The multi-millionaire Eduard Schlüter takes part under the name Schulze in a raffle of his own Schlüter works and wins a stay at the Grand Hotel. Disguised as a poor swallower, he would like to study the reactions of the hotel staff and guests. As an assistant, he takes his reliable servant Johann with him. Once there, he makes friends and also has cause for annoyance when his daughter and the housekeeper arrive.
A German nurse gets sent to the front because she gives medical aid to a wounded Yugoslav partisan during World War II.
Based on the Béla Bartók opera, Duke Bluebeard reluctantly and gradually uncovers the secrets of his psyche to his fourth wife, Judit, opening the seven doors of his castle to ultimately reveal his still living previous wives, among whom Judit must take her place.
