Max, a sleight-of-hand artist, and his partner Nick, impoverished by the war, return to Vienna, the scene of earlier, happy days. Like many people driven to desperation, Max becomes a professional thief rather than starve; and Nick, in spite of scruples, also succumbs. Soon they are again prosperous, and Max is accosted by Anna, a poor girl reduced to picking pockets; he takes her to a restaurant and then to an amusement park, and they are soon caught up in a blissful romance, spending the night on the Ferris wheel. Anna takes a job as waitress in a beer garden, witnesses Max stealing a diamond brooch from a customer, and compels him to return it; Nick, convinced that her intrusion is destroying his friendship, causes her arrest. Ultimately, however, Nick takes the blame for the crime, leaving the lovers to start a new life.