in a noisy print shop, a disgraced police detective named hofmeister (karl meixner) escapes from pursuing criminals' attacks. hofmeister telephones his former superior inspector karl lohmann (otto wernicke) and explains frantically that he has discovered a huge criminal conspiracy. before he can disclose the identity of the responsible criminal, the lights go out, shots are fired, and hofmeister becomes mad. hofmeister vanishes only to be found later singing every time he feels watched, and he is institutionalized at the asylum run by professor baum (oscar beregi sr.).