Frankfurt, Germany, 1807. Clemens Bretano, a writer, meets Auguste Bußman, a 17-year old girl from a wealthy banker's family. She is a very passionate and impulsive being and immediately falls in love with him. In contrary to her, Clemens is a silent thinker who expresses his feelings in writing better than in life. Together they tumble into a passionate relationship that later they turn into marriage. Auguste gets expelled from her family and now only has Clemens to be with. But the artist grows tired of her incredible amount of passion to give and attention to receive and threatens to divorce her. From then on, Auguste tries everything to keep up the marriage, but from time to time her real self breaks through.