Prince Karl Heinz enjoys his carefree life as a student in Heidelberg. He falls in love with the beautiful Käthe and everything is fine and dandy till his father is reported very ill.
The Earl of Essex, a person favourite of the Queen, is in jeopardy of losing his relationship with the monarch after secretly marrying one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting.
Simplicia has a reputation for healing through prayer and laying on of hands. Knight Rochus sets out "to see how long it takes to turn a saint into a sinner!" He sneaks into the monastery and forces Simplicia under his will.
