A social drama plays out in the harbor area of Hamburg: Ballhaus-Else, a prostitute, lives together with her boyfriend Leo, a peaceful bar musician, in St. Pauli. One day, Matrosen-Karl, a thief on the run, finds a hideout at Else's. She is fascinated by the man, who promises her a more exciting and better life. Together they want to leave Hamburg. Leo – who feels inferior to Karl – lets them go with a heavy heart. But then Karl gets arrested after a fight between the underworld and the police in the Kongo-Bar, and Else returns to Leo – and her hopeless everyday life.