The manufacturer Xaver Frey is forced into bankruptcy by his bank and decides to commit suicide in a sleeping car from Vienna to Venice. There he encounters the sleeping car attendant Horak, who is about to retire and who uses every legal and illegal means to prevent his suicide.

After the passing of her husband, the commissioned painter Anneliese Psiko decides to travel across the country. In the Austrian province of Styria, she discovers a strange work of art entitled "Weltmaschine" (World Machine). From now on, it will change her life significantly.