Memorable moments from the life of the Catholic priest and naturopath from Wörishofen (1821-1897). The film depicts the successes of his hydrotherapy methods, his hostility from conventional medicine, and his rehabilitation by Pope Leo XIII.

Brandner Kaspar does not want to die, there is still so much to do and experience on earth. When death appears and wants to get him, Kaspar plays with him for his life - and wins.

There's only one way for the farmer Assbichler to save his farm from ruin: he has to marry off his son Toni to the pretty Rosl, the daughter of the rich farmer Pius Mang. Mang, however, wants his daughter to marry a well-off man; and so Assbichler has to borrow some cattle to give the farm the appearance of a large farming estate.

Mathias Ferner commits perjury and is thus able to secure the farm of his stepbrother Jakob as soon as he dies. In doing so, he deprives Paula Roth and the children of their inheritance. However, there is a letter incriminating Mathias Ferner. Years later, Paula Roth gets her hands on this letter.

Told in flashback, the film recounts the events leading up to the killing of good-for-nothing Curt Jurgens. Warned by her friends and relatives that Jurgens is a bad job, impulsive Ina Kahr marries him anyway. His ceaseless philandering and abuse wears away at Ina to the point that she contemplates poisoning her husband...

The sensitive Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf is suffering from his marriage, dictated by his father, Emperor Franz Joseph, and the strict court etiquette. He meets a kindred spirit in the very young Baroness Mary Vetsera.

Winnie is desperate and doesn't know what to do next. She is about to marry her lover Paul, who has returned from war captivity. Both want to emigrate to America short after marriage. But the young woman has an illegitimate one-and-a-half-year-old son, whom she has kept secret from her fiancé. The short-tempered Paul would never understand that. When she is on her way to the orphanage, the grumpy senior civil servant Hieronymus Spitz and his little dog Tobby get into her train compartment. After a short observation, Winnie is certain that the misantrope actually has a good heart, because he lovingly takes care of his dog. Without further ado she leaves little Niki with the tax accountant and disappears from the train. Only a note with a request remains. The overwhelmed old gentleman initially wants to get rid of the child, but then takes it home and takes care of it together with his housekeeper. Both take the bundle of joy to their hearts. But then everything turns out differently.

A man, in need of money and too lazy to work for a living, marries a plain but rich girl in the knowledge that she is ill and has not long to live.