Travelling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes to find that he's been transformed into a giant insect. This particular Franz Kafka adaptation is seen from Gregor's point of view, continuing to explore themes of alienation, family duty, and the absurdity of modern life as the Samsa clan cope with how to go on with the situation at hand.

15 years ago Paul Jordan was a star in Hollywood musicals. But then he retired from showbiz and married the rich Joan. Now, after being dependent on his wife's money for many years, he's sick of it and wants to work again. A romantic affair with his stepdaughter, Shirley, gives him the guts to ask for a role. His former agent gets him one but it's with a small company in Vienna, Austria. The stress worsens his alcoholism; the tablets he takes to hide the effects lead him to hallucinations. When his wife and girlfriend appear at the same time, he's no longer capable of handling the situation.

In 1934, young archaeologist Robert returns to his home in Salzburg after spending several years working in Crete. He wants to officially break up with his original fiancée Hannah, as he has fallen in love with his employer's wife. But his personal plans get caught up in the political turmoil of the Austrian coup year. In a small village, he and Hannah find themselves caught between the fronts of the coup plotters and the Home Guard troops. A defenseless deaf-mute is to be lynched as a scapegoat. To protect him, Robert invents a mysterious "man in the reeds." But Hannah also eventually falls victim to the unrest.