Under 16-year-old Karl Rossmann is sent by parents by ship from Prague to New York to avoid a scandal caused by a maid’s seduction. In America, the boy lives initially with his rich uncle, but soon loses this safe place. The boy wandered around New York with two cheaters accidentally met. After a few days, he manages to get a job as a elevator boy in a large hotel, but as a result of a false charge he is arrested and must escape.