rich count, who is an avid collector of antiques, buys an antique box. However, he does not know that this artifact is under a terrible, centuries-old curse. Since the purchase, he has been constantly haunted by a ghostly apparition in the form of a medieval knight's wife. One day, the count visits a friend at his castle. When a fire breaks out there, the count discovers the secret of his enchanted box. He discovers an ancient document called "Notes of the Court Jester of the Castle" and reads this document. Now he discovers the reason for the curse.

Before leaving Pillkallen in East Prussia for Berlin, Schnirpel hides the money he is saving for his daughter Marie in the cushions of his sofa. In his absence, Marie and her fiancé Karl stumble upon the savings. Karl takes the money to keep it safe and is soon drafted into the military when World War I breaks out.

France is being swamped by counterfeit bills that are being made by a ring in the US. A beautiful female member of the French gang circulating the bills negotiates a deal with the counterfeiters' ringleader in the US, and in so doing falls in love with a returning US soldier who has his own reasons for trying to destroy the gang.