Experienced Captain Rick Reimers sailed the Nile for more than 20 years. During a dramatic ship rescue operation on the Danube, the Viennese shipowner Illmann becomes aware of the former Nile shipman Reimers. Illmann offers Rick Reimers the position of captain on a brand new Danube steamer. The "Donauprinzessin", as the ship is called, will operate between Passau and Budapest with stops in Warsaw and Vienna.