Lord Windermere appears to all – including his young wife Margaret – to be the perfect husband. The couple's happy marriage is placed at risk when he starts paying visits to a mysterious beautiful newcomer, Mrs. Erylnne, who is determined to make her entry into London's high society. Worse, the secret gets back to Margaret that Windermere has been giving Mrs. Erylnne large sums of money.
In the Austrian manor of Baron and Baroness von Burgen, the relationship between the upstairs aristocracy and the downstairs staff is quite positive. The servants seem to enjoy their time together, and some even fall in love, as head butler Albert and maid Anna have done. But when lecherous new chauffeur Karl Schneider enters the house, affairs and blackmail follow, and the harmony of the home is slowly destroyed.
