April 1945. Because he stole two boxes of chocolate, the soldier Rudi is sentenced to death by the court-martial judge Dr. Schramm. Rudi manages to escape from the firing squad at the last minute due to an air force attack, and since the end of the war has been making a meager living as a street peddler. Years later, Dr. Schramm is now a respected public prosecutor. By chance, he runs into Rudi one day on the street. Afraid that Rudi will blow the whistle on him, Dr. Schramm wants to scare him out of town. He has Rudi arrested and bullied by the police. Desperate, Rudi again steals two boxes of chocolate from a store, hoping his old case will be reopened and Dr. Schramm's past brought to light. But Dr. Schramm has Rudi's death sentence removed from his file. During the trial, Schramm defends Rudi as he was his lawyer and not the prosecutor and suspicion rises. Finally his tongue slips and, without fully realizing what he is saying, demands that Rudi be sentenced to death. The trial is stopped, Schramm now only tries to get away and Rudi tries to leave town but finally start a new life with the woman who owns the hotel and who supported him.
—JAH