Vienna, at the turn of the 19th into the 20th Century: the farmer's daughter Anuschka loses her farm after the death of her father, who was in debt to the rich, hard-hearted farmer Nowarek and her adorable son, Jaro. Anuschka journeys to Vienna to ask help from the surgeon Felix von Hartberg, who once operated on her father. Professor von Hartberg hires her as a maid. His wife Eva, however, flirts big time with the lawyer, Dr. Sasha Wendt and as a token of her lust, sends him her husband's gold lighter. Through a series of stupid coincidences, this very lighter ends up in Anuschka's possession, whereby von Hartberg accuses her of stealing and promptly fires her.