A dashing marquis bends from his horse when he discovers a lost garter in the woods and falls. During his delirium he is serenaded by a little hairdresser. She is the person who lost the garter to begin with and has only come to get it back having borrowed it from her employer--the empress of France. The marquis mistakenly thinks he was nursed by the empress, herself, and decides to woo her.
Vienna is celebrating New Year’s Eve 1913/14. It is the year, which will see the outbreak of the First World War. In Hotel Sacher, the mood is excellent; and although the political atmosphere is charged, there’s an undercurrent of hate and intolerance in the air. It is with this background that Nadja, a Russian spy, meets the Austrian civil servant Stefan. He loves her, but comes under suspicion of being an agent because of this love.
The formerly wealthy Baron Carl Erich von Wenden is desperate. His debts are out of control and he is forced to give up everything he owns. Since he doesn’t want to burden his daughter Rosy with all of this, he tells her he’ll take a pleasure trip with her … in truth, however, he has to work as an assistant waiter in the evenings, while Rosy stays in the hotel. He constantly fears his daughter will discover the truth; and this is a shame he cannot bear.
