1913. The Von Buttlär family is spending their summer vacation at the Baltic Sea. The undisputed head of the family is the wife of the deceased General von Palinkow. Not far away the beautiful Countess Alice and the man in her life, artist Til Knop, have settled for the summer. In the eyes of Lolo, the romantic eldest daughter of the Von Buttlärs, Countess Alice is the very embodiment of the passionate ideal, for it is known that she left her husband because of her love for Til - which also meant abandoning her position in society. Naturally, in the eyes of the Von Buttlärs the Countess and Til are not at all suitable companions for Lolo. The deformed privy councilor Frosenius attempts in vain to have Alice readmitted into polite society by holding a huge party. When Lolo’s fiancé Carl von Gonthard absconds with Alice, Lolo resolves to take her own life. At the very last moment Til manages to save her, but in this way he discovers that Alice has been unfaithful. While Lolo gives in to the pressure exerted by her parents and a marriage with Carl is arranged with great speed, Til goes out with the local fishermen into the stormy seas; he has resolved to set Alice free by means of his own death. In fact, Alice is more loyal to the dead Til than she was when he was still breathing, and she proceeds to wait with Frosenius for the ocean to bring back the body of her lover.