American billionaire George B. Stefenson is on a business trip through Europe when, due to his heavy workload, he suffers a heart attack. The doctor called to his aid, Dr. Hartung, strongly advises him to take a three-month break—in other words, to take a “vacation from himself.” After some hesitation, Stefenson agrees and also commits to funding the project, since an institution offering such a program has so far existed only as a dream in the doctor’s mind. As part of the “vacation from the self,” all participants are given a new first name and work clothes so they do not have to reveal their true identities to any of the other residents.

The story takes place in Mythikon, a small village on Lake Zurich in the 17th century. The pastor of a rural Zurich community is so obsessed with hunting that his passion threatens to cost him his office and dignity. Now, help is sought from the famous general and cousin of the pastor, who is supposed to set things right with a clever plan.

If any one man is responsible for the rejuvenation of the postwar Swiss film industry, that man was director Leopold Lindtberg. Matto Regiert (Madness Rules) was co-adapted for the screen by Lindtberg from a novel by Friedrich Glauser. Heinrich Gretler stars as Police Constable Studer, the hero of several of Glauser's most popular works. This time, Studer must solve the murder of the director of an insane asylum -- and it's not (surprise, surprise) the most likely suspect, manic-depressive patient Herbert Caplaun. For box-office purposes, Matto Regiert stresses a romantic subplot involving Caplaun and nurse Irma Wasem.