The eventful tale of Worldly-Wise, an adventurer who enters the service of an aging ruler in order to seek for him a successor. Unable to find a worthy heir, Worldly-Wise succumbs to the temptation to seize power himself.

A scientist on the run with a valuable formula is murdered, and the only witnesses are eight blind people.

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

Shortly before the end of the war, SS officer Grohmann sinks several crates of counterfeit English money in Lake Toplitz with his comrade Kopetzky. The former Nazi used the money to build a career in business in post-war Germany. His buddy also benefits from this “new beginning”. That's when reporter Wolfgang Löhde gets on their trail...