The film tells the story of the rise and fall of a German businessman who is fascinated by dreams of great success. In the end the decline of this climber is not to be halted. With his panic-like fixation that he has to taste everything that could possibly be worth tasting, Ulrich makes a fundamental error. His mistaken estimate of the capital at his disposal is exceeded only by his mistaken assessment of his own feelings. His calculations are at fault when he only regards his friend and his wife as factors in his strategy for success, without taking their own lives into consideration. In this film director Marianne Lüdcke develops a tensely- conveyed double message; greed for possessions is deadly for other people - and for oneself.