It follows the dynamics which ensue when a couple invite two other people.

The film is based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1809 novel Elective Affinities.

It was released by the DEFA film studio on 27 August 1974.

[1] The journal Film-Dienst wrote: "In the historical scenography and in the dialogue, the film misses the issues of the original work; shortenings and tightenings occasionally make the developments incomprehensible.

What in Goethe is presented as a clash of moral and natural laws, appears in the film as a questioning of norms, moral and ethics of civil marriage.