Viola von Birkenfeld, who is as blonde as she is enthusiastic, a kind of 16-year-old Käthchen von Heilbronn, leads a secluded life in her grandfather's castle. During a fleeting encounter with the young Friedrich von Bornim, she falls madly in love with the handsome young man. He came from Berlin to check on his country estate. In her rapturous infatuation, Viola soon shows great attachment. But the young man regularly rejects Viola, because he still loves his wife Irene, who is gradually becoming estranged from him and whose existence Viola has no idea about.