After the death of the lord of Supov, inspector Hrdlička is fired from the castle. He moves to Prague with his wife and daughters Irena and Julča. He hopes to find a lucrative position here, and the wife hopes that in Prague she will find a rich husband for Irena. But fortune is not smiling on Hrdlička, and the high expenses that the wife and Irena make get him into debt with the usurer Jestřáb. From the entire family, only Julča manages to cope with the misfortune and works, although she very much misses the gardener Karel who stayed at Supov. Hrdlička can't even pay the interest on his loans and after a while Jestřáb arrives at their house for inspection. There, he sees the beautiful Julča, and is prepared to defer Hrdlička's payment if Julča becomes his son's governess. Julča agrees to this to save her father and goes to Supov which Jestřáb has bought. Here, Jestřáb is harassing her one evening. Karel interferes and they are both fired. The situation with the Hrdlička family in Prague has become even worse in the meantime. The hoped for positions have melted away and Hrdlička lost another 100 guldens which he payed to a fake employment agent. Hrdlička shoots himself in despair. His wife and Irena end up as courtesans and are arrested for card-sharping. Only Julča and Karel are ....
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