After having her second child, a German housewife suffers from post-partum depression before inexplicably falling into a continually misdiagnosed mental state, befuddling her relatives.

After his daughter is contaminated with an unknown poison gas and put into an induced coma, her father, a sports reporter, starts his own research to obtain a sample of the gas so that an antidote can be developed. The trail leads to Morocco, but a powerful organization tries to stop the father's efforts.

The film presents the political events surrounding the Anschluss in March of 1938 through the lives of Carola Hell, a popular young actress at the prestigious Theater in der Josefstadt, and Martin Hofmann, the Jewish journalist she plans to marry. When we encounter the couple in the lovely springtime weather their future is full of promise. They are determined to stay clear of politics. Yet in the climate of the time, nobody of her prominence or his religion can remain apolitical. Although Martin's journalist friend, Drechsler, calls to inform them that the Nazis plan to take over Austria soon, they concentrate on their work and their private happiness and dismiss the warnings.

After his father is killed, Prince Valemon ascends the throne, only to be turned into a polar bear by a bitter witch who wants to be his queen.