Country Dr. Robert Koch is desperate: a tuberculosis epidemic is decimating the children in his district and no one is able to do anything about it. Every fourth child is already sick and the parents must helplessly watch as their young ones die. Now Koch is undertaking to find the cause of the tuberculosis --- something he has already been working on for years --- which has been causing this plague of illness. His work is made more difficult by envy; for example, that of his teacher, who was wounded defending his honor. But his greatest obstacle is the famous Berliner scientist and Reichstag deputy, Privy Councilor Rudolf Virchow: He is extraordinarily skeptical of Koch's theory, that the cause for tuberculosis is a bacteria.

The student Hans Kessler is suspected of having murdered the banker Hergotin, who has been found dead in his hotel in Zurich. When a search is launched for an unknown woman, who was seen in the hotel at the time of the murder, Hans suddenly confesses to the deed. The prosecution is headed by Schweda and Hans is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Only afterwards does Regine, Hans' sister, find out about the events. She is convinced that her brother is innocent and is covering for the actual murderer.

Spanning the years between the Bolshevik Revolution and 1930, this Negri vehicle focuses on an exiled Russian noblewoman who has lost track of her daughter and of a young officer she pined for.Until she finds them both again and together.

The short story focuses on two anecdotal episodes about the Prussian King Frederick II. In the first episode, the monarch meets an invalid. In the second episode, Baron Warkotsch's servant informs the king that Kappel's master is committing treason against the Prussian king, which puts Frederick's life in grave danger.

The formerly wealthy Baron Carl Erich von Wenden is desperate. His debts are out of control and he is forced to give up everything he owns. Since he doesn’t want to burden his daughter Rosy with all of this, he tells her he’ll take a pleasure trip with her … in truth, however, he has to work as an assistant waiter in the evenings, while Rosy stays in the hotel. He constantly fears his daughter will discover the truth; and this is a shame he cannot bear.

Christof Peleikis is a seasoned sailor who once served as a helmsman on many ships. Since having a wife and child, he works as a fisherman and lives in a small village. When a ship gets into trouble off the coast one day, Christof rushes to its aid. He manages to save the ship and its crew, but one of the helmsmen is killed. Christof is eventually persuaded by the alluring captain's wife, Evelyn, to take the man's place. Without saying goodbye to his family, he sets sail...

A small banking family is put to the test: Brigitte, the wife of the banker Sparrenberg, has a secret: she was once the lover of the fraudster Baron Gaffris, who once used her to get close to well-off businessmen. Now Gaffris is trying to use her to trick her husband. After a fight between Brigitte and Gaffris, Brigitte’s daughter Ina seeks out the baron in an attempt to help her mother. Afterwards, the baron’s suddenly found dead on the floor. Brigitte takes all the blame, goes to the cops and admits to having stabbed Gaffris.

A man, feeling unappreciated, leaves his wife for a cabaret singer, while the wife meets a young pilot and decides to join him abroad.

In a transport museum, the items on display begin to tell their stories. Most interesting is the history of the Pullman car. In the beginning, it served as transport for a princely family; then became the headquarters car for the military high command; and then, most adventurous of all, it ended up with a circus. Converted to a bar, it finally had its day and was supposed to serve as a placard carrier. Luckily, the museum saved it from this sad fate.