Walter Vollmann

Dietz' relatives are horrified to discover that Dietz, the son of a wealthy merchant, is planning to marry an actress, who is known to appear in rather daring roles. Dietz finds a way to escape from a gathering over coffee, during which he's supposed to be introduced to "decent ladies". After all, his great love is waiting for him somewhere else.

Maler Pratt, an artist, refuses to sell his paintings as he thinks that they still need improvement before being publicly exhibited, but his wife Monika thinks differently and sells them because she thinks they are good...and they need the money. As he only signs an "M" on his work, Monika has no difficulty in claiming she is "M", but problems arrive when she is commissioned to do a large mural and Maler refuses to help her out. However, his creative spirit gets the best of him and he does the mural which is widely acclaimed to be a great work of art. Felder , an art dealer, is not overly pleased with this turn of events as he has been pleading with Monika to divorce her shiftless husband and marry him.

Christof Peleikis is a seasoned sailor who once served as a helmsman on many ships. Since having a wife and child, he works as a fisherman and lives in a small village. When a ship gets into trouble off the coast one day, Christof rushes to its aid. He manages to save the ship and its crew, but one of the helmsmen is killed. Christof is eventually persuaded by the alluring captain's wife, Evelyn, to take the man's place. Without saying goodbye to his family, he sets sail...

Seven men in peaceful Switzerland swear lifelong friendship while the rest of the world is at strife. A conflict arises when the daughter of one falls in love with the son of another.