Gertie, the daughter of sweets factory owner Seipold and his wife Regine, returns home early from her travels, because she was given a ride by her charming acquaintance Heinz Fellner. Seipold doesn’t approve of Fellner’s visit, since he wants his confidential clerk Stieglitz to marry Gertie.

Shy Stieglitz finally proposes to Gertie, but is rejected – because his life is too boring for Gertie, who is looking for a man with a dramatic past. In order to change his daughter’s mind, Seipold invents a flashy biography for the hapless Stieglitz, involving a romantic affair with the renowned movie actress Letta Larbo.