Wilder Urlaub plot
Believing that he has mortally wounded his superior, Sergeant Eppler (Robert Freitag), during a skirmish, Soldier Hermelinger (Robert Trösch) flees his army camp in the pouring rain and rents a room in Zurich. His main concern at the time is stealing civilian clothes so he can flee to unoccupied France. Along the way, Hermelinger meets different people with different problems. This confronts him with his actions and gives him the opportunity to ease his conscience. Flashbacks tell the life story of the young soldier and his encounter with the sergeant long before the war.