The death of the Prime Minister causes a stir in the society of a small ducal residence. While Lord Chamberlain von Gillzing hopes to become the deceased's successor, Weber, his former secretary, is relegated to a minor post as archivist. Baroness von Windegg, previously known as the Prime Minister's mistress, also fears losing her social standing. But when the Baroness hands the archivist a thick package, which Gillzing believes contains the late Prime Minister's diaries, both she and the archivist suddenly find themselves in high demand, and everyone in town fears being mentioned in the diary in some compromising way.