April 1945. Because he stole two bars of chocolate, the soldier Rudi is sentenced to death by the court-martial judge Dr. Schramm. Rudi manages to escape from the firing squad at the last minute, and since the end of the war has been making a meager living as a street peddler. Years later, Dr. Schramm is now a respected public prosecutor. By chance, he runs into Rudi one day on the street. Afraid that Rudi will blow the whistle on him, Dr. Schramm wants to scare him out of town. He has Rudi arrested and bullied by the police. Desperate, Rudi steals two chocolate bars from a store, hoping his old case will be reopened and Dr. Schramm's past brought to light. But Dr. Schramm has Rudi's death sentence removed from his file. During the trial, everything seems to be going just the way Dr. Schramm has planned. But then he loses his nerves and, without fully realizing what he is saying, demands that Rudi be sentenced to death. The trial is stopped, Dr. Schramm resigns and Rudi leaves town to finally start a new life.