Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, is kept absent from the royal court due to his dangerous political ideas. Sent on a tour of inspections and inaugurations, he falls in love with Countess Sophie Chotek.
A group of policemen look over three murder cases including a cutthroat that prays on young women, a madman that hid his deformed landlord's corpse in the floor, and a wine aficionado who buries his friend alive.
François, a young student at a provincial college, likes Colette, the daughter of the headmaster. Turlot his colleague, who commits suicide, left a diary where he writes of his relationship with Colette.
