Hana, a single German woman, decides to return from New York to Berlin, where she left her young son, after her husband's suicide. When she learns that he has been adopted by the famous conductor Gavenberg to save his crumbling marriage, Hana takes a job as a nanny in his home to be closer to her son. At that time, Gavenberg's marriage is in tatters and a strong bond develops between him and Hana. Texts dedicated to the Hollywood director Douglas Sirk tend to avoid discussing his films of the Third Reich. Were the films made under the name of Detlef Sierck in line with the ideological project of National Socialism? Or is it the other way around, that fascism is subtly deconstructed and criticised? The answer is to be found in the director's first melodrama, whose style and intonation are easily predictable features of his later works.