En amtsskriver (Elith Pio) i en lille tysk by omkring 1826, forlover sig med en fattig pige (Karin Nellemose), som uden at vide det er arving til en formue. Amtsskriveren køber byens slot for arven. Herremanden (Thorkild Roose) dør af sor...
Grethi Birger is 17 years old - and now stands all alone in the world. Her mother, the great singer, has died in Paris and she has never known his father.
