A troupe of actors led by Ernest Dummkopf, theatre company manager, is plotting to overthrow the Grand Duchy of Pfennig-Halbpfennig by blowing up the despised Grand Duke and placing one of their own on the throne. When Ludwig, the company’s leading comedian, accidently reveals the plot to the Grand Duke’s personal detective, a notary steps in to offer a more civilized solution to the death that was certain to become them all: a statutory duel which results in the civil (but not corporal) death to the loser. Through slyness and slight of hand, Ludwig manages to dispatch the Grand Duke, take over the Grand Duchy, and inherit four brides who each claim to be the rightful Grand Duchess. With a life considerably more complicated than Ludwig had initially planned, help arrives from an unexpected source to help set the world right again.