Eberwein, Renate and Otto run a bar high above the Rhine, overlooking the romantic Lorelei. But no-one wants to climb high above the Rhine in these post-war days, and things look bleak for the future. However out of the blue Renate receives a letter to say that she has inherited an inn in Florence, and it seems their troiubles are over. They set off in their old car, and have to get towed most of the way, by a steam roller, a tractor, the carabinieri, and finally by a friendly priest. When they get to their inheritance, they find it is in worse shape than the bar they left behind. Renate goes round the banks to try to get a loan to do the place up, but without success. It looks like a case of out of the frying pan … but there are two glimmers of light on the horizon; the first is that there is a large secret cavern behind the inn’s cellar, containing unimagined possibilities; and the second is that the friendly priest has some money to lend them.