Filmed during the Nazi occupation, this panoramic drama set in a Prague department store follows the divergent destinies of four female coworkers, each of whom seeks happiness in a different way.
Lieutenant Orloff, a recently graduated Russian officier, is making his way across the snow-covered steppes to the garrison where he is to be stationed. He comes across a man who has lost his way in the blizzard and takes him to the safety of an inn. Arriving at the garrison, Orloff meets and falls...
It all begins when Zuzanka, the new young owner, arrives at the dilapidated Blue Star Hotel. Determined to put the declining inheritance back on its feet, she starts chasing three young men, including the composer Jirka, who, dressed in a waiter's tailcoat, is to work off his debt to the new owner....
A working class young woman disregards the wishes of her father to stay in her place, and marries higher in society by wooing a wealthy car manufacturer.
