Marta Dekasová works as a governess in a garrison town. The beautiful girl is the center of attention of many men, but she only desires Lieutenant Varga, who is married and rejects her. Desperate, Marta throws herself into the arms of the most intrusive of her suitors, and is then dismissed in disgrace. She goes to Prague to live with her friend Kiki, becomes a bar singer, and continues her journey down the sloping surface. Hope for a new life dawns on her when a young student falls in love with her, but just then Varga appears in the bar and rekindles her unquenched feelings...