Lübeck merchant Friedemann (Ulrich Mühe) owes his crippled figure to a wet nurse "devoted to drink". He lives a secluded life with his three simple-minded sisters and bedridden mother, loving only the theater and music. However, his attempt to become a member of an orchestra fails miserably. Only Gerda (Maria von Bismarck), the unhappy wife of the district commander, allows him to blossom. His ardent passion fatally obscures his sense of reality: Gerda only loves women...