Alfred Kralik is the top salesman at a leathergoods shop in Budapest owned by the high-strung Mr. Hugo Matuschek. Kralik's coworkers at Matuschek and Company include his friend, Pirovitch, Ferencz Vadas, and Pepi Katona. One morning, Kralik reveals to Pirovitch that he's been corresponding anonymously with an intelligent and cultured woman whose ad he came across in the newspaper.