Dentist Joseph Strauss leaves Prussia in the spring of 1866 and follows Captain of Dragoons Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen to Bucharest, where the officer is to ascend the throne of the United Principalities of Romania, assuming the title Prince Carol I. As war is imminent in Central Europe, the journey is an adventurous one, but the company of Siegfried the tomcat, a guardian angel of sorts, helps him to overcome all dangers. In Bucharest, Joseph will meet and fall in love with the beautiful nanny to the children of a pretender to the Serbian throne. Meanwhile, prior to his marriage, the Prince distances himself from the dentist, seeking to erase all stains from his past, particularly his involvement with a beautiful blind prostitute, who, unbeknownst to him, has given birth to a baby boy with a suspiciously aristocratic nose.