Äls, a young woman from Sweden (Kristina Söderbaum) living in Hamburg in the summer months attracts a newly married explorer, Albrecht Froben (Carl Raddatz) who has just returned to his native city. But although Äls seems to be 'life itself', she suffers from a tropical disease which is slowly killing her. Froben is torn between Äls and his wife Octavia (Irene von Mayendorff), who he seen as a kind of 'heavenly' counterpart to the earthy and beguiling Äls.