A young woman falls for a flirtatious count only to find that he has no intention of marrying her. To her distress, the count still pursues her even after she has married another.
The young sculptor Cramer is inspired by the idea of modeling a statue of Aphrodite that reflects the beauty and perfection of the female body. He found his ideal model in the happily married Frau von Versen. After initial hesitation, the lady, flattered by the offer, agrees to be a model. But suddenly she is overcome by moral concerns, because as the wife of a respected legation councilor, this could cause social misunderstandings.