Baruch Mayer, son of an orthodox rabbi from a poor shtetl in Galizia, decides to break with the family tradition and leave the shtetl to become an actor.

A gypsy dancer becomes involved with some smugglers in Spain.

Az Aranyember (The Man of Gold) was based on a novel by Jokai, at one time Hungary's foremost storyteller. Set in the early 19th century, the story revolves around Timar (Ferenc Kiss), a ferryman on a Danish tugboat. Rescuing the daughter (Marisa Kormos) of a Turkish nobleman from a watery grave, Timar is rewarded with the girl's hand in marriage. Now rich beyond his wildest dreams, our hero finds he is unsatisfied; it seems he has never forgotten his true love, flower girl Noemi (Anna Fuzes). Timar is forced to suffer mightily until he is finally permitted a tender reunion with the girl of his dreams.

The story follows the life of a bright and sensitive schoolboy growing up in an old, established boarding school in the city of Debrecen in eastern Hungary.