Raffish twenty-something Jakob Fabian works as an advertising copywriter for a cigarette company during the day. At night, he drifts through cabaret bars, brothels and artist studios with his wealthy leftist friend Labude. When he meets Cornelia, a self-confident aspiring actress, he manages to shed his pessimistic attitude for a moment and falls in love. But then, he too falls victim to the great wave of layoffs, whilst Cornelia's career blossoms thanks to her boss and admirer, Makart, a Babelsberg Studio mogul. It's an arrangement that Fabian finds difficult to come to terms with. But it's not just his world that is falling apart...