In 1900, Stepha, the vivacious 30 year old daughter of a wealthy couple, agrees to marry her cousin Paul, who has accumulated large debts as an Austrian army officer. Paul refuses to work or to consummate the marriage, and then his health steadily declines.
When a noted professor receives a new treatment for his heart ailment, his outlook on life changes. Despite doctor's orders, he is determined to live out his final days on his own terms and fulfill his fantasies. He saves the life of a young woman who tries to kill herself after his recovery from heart surgery in this symbolic story of a man trying to determine his own fate in his last days alive.
The story of an old gentleman who had spent his life restoring antiques. As an art connoisseur, he planned to surround himself with old paintings, which he collected deliberately. But his passion for painting was not well understood by his petty bourgeois family, who saw his collection of paintings as nothing more than money uselessly invested. And they are looking forward to selling off their inheritance...
