Horst Valfelt, deputy manager of a medium-sized bank branch in West Berlin, is passed over for promotion. A woman is put in front of him as branch manager. A serious blow to Valfelt's career. One day, his former fellow student Thomas Berthold appears at the bank. He has achieved everything Valfelt dreams of: a degree, a highly remunerated and influential position and an attractive wife. Berthold wants to start his own business and asks for a loan. Valfelt cockily promises to get him a loan on particularly favorable terms.