Eva Bernhardt leaves her home in Germany after an unhappy love affair and looks up a friend in Copenhagen. She has left Germany without papers and is in Denmark illegally. Actually, the store where her friend works is a cover for a vicious call-girl racket and Eva is forced into that life by threats of exposure to the Danish authorities.

Ship's doctor Dr. Schumacher dreams of a sanatorium where one can truly escape from all one's obligations.

The singer and dancer Vera Opalinska performs as Arlette in 1920s Paris, where she is a star. Next on the agenda is a tour of the United States. The contract is to be signed after a final, highly acclaimed show. During the negotiations, her new PR agent asks about her background.

German sailor Peter Hille arrives in Copenhagen to see his beloved Hannah. But she has died in childbirth, leaving Peter with an eight-month-old baby. The young father is left with the entire burden of caring for the child. But he would never have been able to cope with his worries if the ordinary people he encounters had not helped him.