Adaptation of Mór Jókai's classic 19th century novel on Mihály Tímár, the captain of a commercial Danube ship in the 1830s, who finds unexpected fortune by meeting a Turkish aristocrat fleeing from his home country with his daughter Tímea. On their journey, they find an unknown island on the Danube, called the Senki szigete (the Island of No-one), a sort of earthly paradise, with only an old woman and her young daughter Noémi living on it.

"Who are you, wonderful creature, Who are you, man? The garment of your soul A bright robe woven of starry rays, And your body Worn rags cover your body. Your family is hungry, you are hungry yourself, And it is your Sunday, If soft bread should chance to be On your tableclothless table, And what is there for you and yours Thou canst not get, The world at large Thou strivest to make the world happy."

Feri Noszty forges bills of exchange, which is an unforgivable sin in his circle. The family, to pay the debt and save the boy's honour, cash in their only fortune by marrying Vilma, Feri's sister, to a wealthy man. But this will not save Feri, who must resign his commission as an officer. He gets a job as a magistrate, but the income does not satisfy the young man's needs. All that is left is a good marriage and a huge dowry.