Act I In a painter’s studio, Lulu is posing for a portrait. The newspaper editor Dr. Schön, who picked Lulu up off the streets, has arranged her marriage to the much older medical officer Dr. Goll. His son Alwa, a young composer, collects him from the studio to take him to the final rehearsal of his new work. No sooner is the painter alone with Lulu than the two of them begin an erotic chasing game. Lulu’s husband suddenly comes back. His jealousy is so intense that he has a heart attack and dies. – Lulu has married the painter whose portrait of her has made him a star. Dr. Schön tells Lulu that he is about to marry and demands that she break off all contact with him. Schön reminds the painter of his responsibility towards Lulu and tells him about her past and her promiscuity. The painter is so appalled that he commits suicide. – Dr. Schön has found Lulu a job as a dancer to help her find a new husband. During the performance of a play for which Alwa wrote the music, she notices Schön and his fiancée in a box and faints. In the dressing room an angry Dr. Schön demands that she continue dancing. Lulu turns the tables and forces Schön to write a farewell letter to his fiancée.
Act II Lulu has married Schön. He watches suspiciously as the lesbian countess Geschwitz makes amorous advances toward Lulu. When Schön goes out, the shifty old man Schigolch, a schoolboy, an athlete and Alwa, who has long been in love with Lulu, arrive. Schön finds the house full his wife’s lovers and wants to force her to take her own life. But instead, Lulu shoots at Dr. Schön. Now this husband dies as well. Lulu is arrested. – Risking both her life and her fortune, Countess Geschwitz has helped Lulu escape from prison. The plan is now for the athlete to marry Lulu and leave the country with her, but he refuses to see it through. Alwa escapes with her.