In 1938, a young woman leaves Germany to search for her love, Erich, in Reichenburg, Bohemia. Erich is secretly fighting the fascists, so Hilde ends up becoming a housemaid in the home of a German joiner in order to carry on their relationship. The joiner's son notices the passionate love shared between Hilde and Erich. To him, the young lady embodies the feminine ideal. When Hilde receives news of Erich's death, she descends into an uninhibited lifestyle in an attempt to forget. The boy then notices a shift in her emotional state to that of horror and disappointment. Hilde senses that her behavior towards the boy puts him into a fatalistic state of mind. She attends to him and shows him the secrets of love.