Young Werther and Lotte are drawn to each other, but the daughter of a magistrate is already promised to the young Albert. Against this social convention, the enthusiastic young man fights a futile battle. Disappointed, he takes a position at a noble court, which he soon loses again. He returns to Lotte one last time, only to be rejected once more. Despairing over his meaningless existence, Werther borrows Albert's pistol and writes a final letter to Lotte on Christmas Eve.