Die Unehelichen plot
Peter, Lotte and Frieda are illegitimate children and end up with foster parents. However, the Zielk family is only interested in money. The father drinks, beats Peter and eventually forces him to work for him. When Lotte dies of pneumonia, Peter tells health authorities the truth - that her real cause of death was exhaustion. The children are placed out of Zielk's house. Frieda is adopted by a friendly miller and his wife, while Peter ends up with an unmarried woman. Then Peter's biological father shows up and tells him he has the right to let Peter work for him aboard his riverboat.