Márta has a secret affair with André. Her husband catches them and forces André to sign a declaration pledging to go into exile in America. Adapted from Gaston Leroux.

Magda longs to move from respectable poverty to the carefree world of the rich. Against her mother's and uncle's admonition, she elopes with her lover, the frivolous Sándor Tomory, who promises her a life of luxury. Her happiness doesn't last long, the young man soon tires of her and leaves her. In despair, Magda flees to suicide. She is rescued and cared for in her uncle's house. Here she learns that Tomory has been arrested for forging bills of exchange. The uncle, "the watchmaker of the soul", tries to save this lost soul. He frees the boy, giving him a chance to start over. Tomory regrets his recklessness and vows to change. He asks Magda to marry him. Disappointed, she at first spurns the unfaithful young man, but when she is convinced that he has truly reformed, she forgives him and marries him.

Camilla comes from a well-to-do provincial family. She turns down her country suitors because of their lack of culture and her urban suitors because of their immorality. Finally she falls in love with a poor young artist who is painting her portrait on commission of her father. The chances of their marrying appear slim because of the painter’s modest situation but still they get engaged in secret.