It is summer, and like a breeze, the aristocratic society sweeps into a fishing village on the Baltic Sea. Countess Palikow invites her family, along with her granddaughter Lolo's fiancé and Privy Councillor Knospelius. This gathering is thrown into disarray by the bourgeois painter Hans Grill and his wife Countess Doralice, as they break the strict conventions. Last but not least, the titular waves are both an actor and a constant companion in this impressionistic masterpiece. Eduard von Keyserling impressively captures the entire range of moods, from gentle to stormy waves.