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The action begins in the spring of 1914 in a small garrison town near Vienna. Young cavalry lieutenant Anton Hofmiller meets two charming young girls: Edith von Kekesfalva, the daughter of the richest landowner in the area, and her cousin Ilona. Mr. von Kekesfalva and the girls invite Anton to visit them at any time. As a result of an accident, Edith's legs are paralyzed and she cannot walk without assistance. Anton takes pity on the girl and tries to entertain her. Edith falls in love with Anton, and she is the first to confess her love to him. But the young man feels only pity for the girl and is wary of public opinion... "...There are two kinds of compassion. One is cowardly and sentimental, it is, in essence, nothing more than the impatience of the heart, hurrying to get rid of the painful feeling at the sight of someone else's misfortune; the other is the desire to forgive and to be kind to her. This is not compassion, but only an instinctive desire to protect one's peace from the suffering of one's neighbor. But there is another compassion - true compassion, which demands action, not sentimentality, it knows what it wants and is full of determination, suffering and compassion, to do everything that is humanly possible and even beyond it. Stefan Zweig, "Impatience of the Heart".