Harry Jandorf returns from the horrors of the Great War trenches to resume his role as advertising manager at his family’s iconic Berlin department store, only to find many changes.

Having convinced Georg to cook the KaDeWe books, Harry accompanies his father to the bank to try to persuade them to give a substantial loan, despite the poor economic climate.

In Berlin, inflation soars, the workforce is starving and KaDeWe is struggling. Despite the worries, Hedi enjoys nights out at an avant-garde club called Eldorado and a liaison with Fritzi.

Harry realises that he must confront his addiction head-on. Pressure mounts on his sister Fritzi to end her affair with Hedi.

Hedi becomes the talk of the locker room when she becomes the face of KaDeWe. Harry and Georg plan to bamboozle potential buyer Tietz by pretending that their business is failing.

KaDeWe again finds itself in need of financial reinvestment. Tietz, Harry and Georg approach the bank, but politics is about to play a painful part in their negotiations.