Trying to forget about the tragedy that happened to his wife, the once famous pianist Edward Saroyan works in a bar under the name of Charly Kohler. But his attempts to escape from life are unsuccessful: Charly falls in love with the waitress Lena. Comically shy at the sight of Lena, Charly, meanwhile, easily starts an affair with his neighbor, the prostitute Clarisse.
In the bar appears Chico, Charly's brother, who is being chased by two gangsters. Charly can not refuse his brother and helps him to escape from the chase. But he does not suspect that now he has unwittingly implicated not only himself, but also Lena and his younger brother Fido....