El viajero del siglo is an ambitious experiment. It invites us to look at the 20th Century with 19th-Century eyes. Searching for an inn to spend the night, Hans stops his horse-drawn carriage in Wandernburgo, a city located between Saxony and Prussia. The following day he happens upon an organ grinder in the city's market square. Moved by the music, he approaches the man, giving him some money. The become fast-friends and Hans' stay in the town extends indefinitely. In a reception party for personalities and prominent families, Hans meets other ardent individuals and, more importantly, the daughter of one of them, a woman named Sophie. Even though the young woman is engaged, a love is unfolds between them that threatens a masked murderer that patrols the city.