Oscar Bänz is a solid, middle-class taxi driver and widower. He loves his daughter Irma with all his heart. In order to provide for her, he has not remarried. Irma, a quiet, intelligent young woman, is studying medicine. To finance her education, Bänz rents a room to Toni Schellenberg, a young man from the countryside with a promising future as a soccer player. But the big city, easy money, and superficial friends cause Toni to neglect his training and evening classes, and eventually his employer fires him. Irma, who has fallen in love with the handsome athlete, asks her father for help. He is finally able to find Toni a job as a taxi driver. But when Irma attends a student party and also agrees to a date with the senior physician Dr. Zbinden, Toni feels neglected.

A "milieustudie" about a girl going to the famous Cafe Odeon and trying to make ends meet.

Realist melodrama set in Zurich. In the old town district, people are concerned about Mäni, the child of a toilet attendant, who is growing up without a father. Postman Jucker appeals to the boy's conscience and protects him from unjustified accusations. After Mäni's mother dies, Jucker, who has become the child's guardian, takes Mäni into his home. Mrs. Jucker does not accept the boy and accuses Jucker of forgetting their own deceased child. Mrs. Jucker flees to her sister's house. Mäni also runs away.