A production company holds a public competition for film ideas. The winning letter tells of a young woman's lost love in the 1840's. It is, in fact, the true story of a now elderly woman's life.
Alessandra, illegitimate daughter of a count, is raised in a circus. Everyone would like her to marry Anton, a rough gamekeeper, but she escapes helped by Count Erwin. The young girl falls in love with her savior but he has no serious intentions.
