Docudrama telling the story of a building with a breath taking career that began in the empire, flourished in the Weimar Republic, perished in the Nazi dictatorship, and was rebuilt after its partial destruction.
Franziska Dreyer and Sebastian Pauli are a happy couple. When one day the police arrest her boyfriend on suspicion of murder, Franziska assumes it's a mistake. But in a trial marked by circumstantial evidence, Sebastian is tried, convicted and sentenced to life. Franziska believes he's innocent and fights to get him released. This puzzles her parents and friends who advise her to cut all ties to him. Her reaction is to marry Sebastian in prison. Then Franziska discovers completely unknown sides to her husband and now doesn't know who or what to believe any more.
In the Austrian Alps have found the body of a young woman who died in a skiing accident eight years earlier. Dr. Marc Pelletier decides to return to the scene, as it is the brother of his ex-girlfriend. When he reach the ski resort, a dreadful avalanche buries all the people.