Young Helene comes with her sister Martha to the exciting Berlin of the wild 20s. While Martha loses herself in a party and drug frenzy, Helene wants to study medicine and become a doctor. In Karl she finds the love of her life. But with his untimely death and the social upheaval caused by the Nazis, she meets Wilhelm, who falls madly in love with her. But her vital energy and strong will do not reconcile with Wilhelm's traditional role models and her motherhood.