The demonic Rasputin is poisoned but survives to continue seducing in evil ways, in this historical thriller.

The First World War. The young, English Lieutenant Raleigh is sent to the company of a disillusioned Captain Stanhope. Stanhope is secretly engaged to Raleigh's sister and is intent on protecting his image of an exemplary officer. An attack on the German lines, in which Raleigh also takes part, has turned into a bloody fiasco. Now Raleigh, too, knows the horrors of war, which have already taken their toll on Stanhope.

Hans, living in Vienna during the Great Depression, intends to drown himself in the river after losing his livelihood. While there he meets a girl named Anna after pulling her from the river.

German adaptation of Maurice Leblanc's "Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes" stories. German copyright laws allowed the producers to return "Sholmes" to the proper "Sherlock Holmes" who was portrayed by Viggo Larsen.

Based on the play and subsequent operetta of the same name.