Lissy Arna, born Elisabeth Arndt, was a German actress. She was often portrayed in roles as a modern femme fatale.
A sordid tale of poverty and greed set within a quayside milieu of crime and prostitution, the narrative centres on the quest for a sparkling pearl necklace stolen by a beggar under the gaze of a prostitute, who persuades her unemployed friend to steal it back, with tragic consequences. The story unfolds in flashback, without irony or a hint of redemption: life simply goes on.
A young woman, a prisoner who was set up to steal by her lover, is in jail. She would like to see her sweetheart. One night she succeeds in persuading the doctor of the prison who also is a woman, to be released. She finds the man, a waiter in an elegant hotel, behaving as a cynical Don Juan. He was preparing to rob the safe of the hotel and go away with his new lover, a dancer.