After the sudden death of his parents, the young son of a factory owner, Louis Maillard (Fred Haltiner), is faced with the task of running the orphaned watch factory. It turns out that the company is hopelessly in debt. Illegal transactions by his father are uncovered, but people rush in from all sides to woo the newcomer: his uncle Otmar Nef (Walo Lüönd), who wants to expand his own watch factory, offers the young factory owner a seemingly generous co-operation. His old school friend Max Schluep (Hans-Rudolf Twerenbold), who is involved in all kinds of dodgy business, proposes a risky watch smuggling operation. His childhood friend Anna Mondini (Melitta Gautschy), who is also well versed in the watchmaking milieu, wants to support him, as does his lawyer Ernest Junod (Adolph Spalinger), who is playing an opaque double game. After the young factory owner has become hopelessly entangled in all the nets laid out, he finally has no choice but to accept the "co-operation" offered to him.