Beautiful Vienna during the Austro-Hungarian era. Lixie, a court councilor's daughter raised in a middle-class family, has fallen in love with the piano teacher Toni. To make a good impression on Lixie's strict father, Toni urgently needs a job. Then chance comes to Lixie's aid. At the Hotel Sacher, she meets Archduke Peter Ferdinand, the very man who could help Toni. But the Archduke only has eyes for Lixie. An unsuitable love affair develops between the two, which quickly escalates into a political scandal in Vienna's high society.

A model agency in Rio de Janeiro is actually a front for a white-slavery ring that kidnaps European women and sells them on the South American sex market.

Captain Ebbs is an older, experienced seaman who has, however, only sailed on freighters. While his current old barge, the Martin Luther, has to go into the shipyard for an overhaul, the shipping company gives him command of the elegant cruise ship Julia to temporarily replace a colleague who has fallen ill. The rough Ebbs finds his way into his new job only with difficulty and initially puts his foot in his social mouth.

Evelyn, the daughter of American travel agent John P. Hoover and great-grandniece of the famous Viennese dancer Fanny Elßler, is herself a professional dancer. However, unbeknownst to her, her wealthy father is bribing critics and audiences—some with free tickets, others with money. When Evelyn overhears a conversation about her supposedly mediocre talent, she discovers her father's manipulation. She then escapes to Vienna with a tour group organized by her father's company. She hopes to pursue a career as a dancer there—like her famous relative once did.

Head waiter Leopold has been secretly in love with the hostess Josepha for a long time, but she only has eyes for Dr. Siedler, a guest in the White Horse Inn. Leopold tries to get Dr. Siedler interested in the daughter of Industrialist Giesecke, who would rather see his daughter married to Sigismund.

Congress of Vienna, 1815: In order to lure certain monarchs away from the conference, the Austrians instigate a ceaseless sequence of operas and balls. Indeed, Russian Czar Alexander is distracted when he falls for a beautiful salesgirl.

When Clementine Kemper, the mother of three children, is once again prevented from playing the piano and singing by her husband Harry, she packs her things and leaves.

Christl, the forester’s daughter, apprehends a young hunter in the forest and only lets him go after he pays a small fine. But when Christl goes to the emperor shortly afterward to plead on behalf of her beloved—a Hungarian officer who has fallen out of favor—she can hardly believe her eyes: the young hunter was the emperor.