The young clerk Poul Wang is squandering his fortune on festive pleasures while being shadowed by a mysterious unknown figure. The following day, payment is due and Poul has to clandestinely visit a local loan shark. The growing interest rates tempt Poul to steal from his workplace, but he is discovered by a watchful colleague. In desperation, he robs his own family’s savings, narrowly avoiding being fatally shot by his own wife, who mistakes him for a common burglar. Just as everything looks impossibly bleak, the mysterious stranger comes to the rescue. (Stumfilm.dk)

La historia de "Den Fremmede", la primera de las películas supervivientes de Wilhelm Gluckstadt, gira en torno a Poul Wang (Emanuel Gregers), empleado de una empresa comercial. Una tarde va a un club nocturno con unos amigos mientras su esposa, Clara (Gudrun Houlberg), espera en casa. No puede pagar su factura y, en su embriaguez, pide que se la envíen a su casa a la mañana siguiente. Cuando llega la factura, todavía no puede pagarla.