The Café Grössenwahn is the meeting place of the Bohemian scene in Berlin in the year 1912. In the overheated atmosphere of the café, the young Eugen Hofmann seeks to connect with artistic circles. Obsessed, he pursues his goal of becoming a famous playwright. Financial difficulties and his own delusions of grandeur lead Eugen down a criminal path, from fraud to robbery and finally to an almost perfect murder at the Hotel Adlon. This murder provides him with the material for his only successful play. At the premiere, Criminal Inspector Hermann Kappe is also in the audience.