Set towards the end of the First World War. Cordula, a waitress in a small Austrian town in the mountains, is expecting a child. The spiteful villagers suspect that the father is the mentally deranged stable boy. But when the real father, Cadet Fleps, comes to the village on holiday, he flirts with the wife of the local policeman instead of looking after Cordula. As a result, Cordula breaks down. However, she then flees to a peasant family, gives birth to her child and gains newfound courage.