The true story of a German agent sent to the USA in 1944 in order to stop the development of the atomic bomb.

Director Wolfgang Staudte who left East Germany in 1953 to make movies in West Germany, takes a few swipes at the West German judicial system in this fairly effective courtroom drama about the murder of a four-month-old baby. Police almost immediately arrest the mother Ingrid who is the mistress of the father, a rich business VIP married to another woman. His position and wealth keep him insulated from suspicion. A hot-shot lawyer has to overcome the unaccountably biased perceptions of the police, the judge, the prosecutor and almost everyone else in the judicial system. The defence lawyer, driven to an extreme, knows he has to find the real killer or his client will be convicted.

A man is unable to find a job. In his desperation, he plans to rob a bank together with a friend who works in a petrol station and feels tempted by the possibility of getting rich. Two different motivations drive these two good men into an immoral situation.