A biography of Johann Friedrich Böttger, who in 1709 invented the first white porcelain in Europe. The apprentice apothecary and assistant to a "gold producer" fled from the Prussian King - into Saxony. But there he finds King Frederick August the Strong after him: the young man is told to produce gold for the king, and is thus brought to a fortress and equipped with everything he would need for the task. Naturally, Böttger has known for a while that actual gold production is a myth and instead experiments with porcelain; it should be as white as it is in China, he figures. Once he finally succeeds in surprising the King with the "white gold," he vainly hopes for freedom... a tragic error.