Dr. Wittich is a passionate speleologist who spends more time on his research than on his fiancée Cornelia. As a result, she turns to the rich industrialist Roy, whom she eventually marries. But her heart actually belongs to the explorer and so she is drawn back to him.

Inflamed by his readings of chivalric novels, Don Quixote, a knight with a sad face, accompanied by Sancho Panza, a peasant steeped in common sense, decides to set off across the world in search of improbable adventures.

Thymian Henning, an innocent young girl, is raped by the clerk of her father's pharmacy. She becomes pregnant, is rejected by her family, and must fend for herself in a harsh, cruel world.