Der lachende Vagabund

The Riehl family is preparing for their vacation in Italy together. But shortly before the start comes the bad news: a colleague of Mr. Riehl, who is now the managing director of a furniture store, has broken his leg.

The Riehl family has recently owned a small house in a new development in the countryside. Mr. Riehl drives into town every morning, where he works in a furniture store. The two children still go to school. Ms. Riehl takes care of the household and has to cycle long distances to do some shopping. When an aunt gives her a considerable amount of money one day, she definitely wants to use it to get her driver's license.

Karin is married to a pharmacist. Happy? She doesn't know herself. In any case, she is bored and feels more than restricted in her development by her dependence on her husband, who is 18 years older than her. When she meets her school friend Dr. Henrich one day, it is the impetus to free herself from the marital cage. The young, attractive hotel employee Gisa is completely different. She lives her life independently of the influences of others and enjoys her youth to the fullest. When Gisa and Karin's paths cross one day in a hotel, it has dramatic consequences.

Despite their social differences Luise, called Pünktchen, a girl from rich parentage befriends Anton, a boy who has to earn his own money in order to afford life for his sick mother and himself. Together they undergo different adventures, even preventing a theft in Pünktchens home

A company's stockholders hold their meeting at a lonely mansion. A mad doctor conducting experiments in the mansion starts to strangle them one at a time with a nylon noose. The survivors must figure out a way to stop him.