Set in the early 1930's in an Austrian farming village, Severin witnesses a strange old woman, Rosalind, visit Lukas, a fellow farmhand. The following morning, the farm's owner is found dead and Rosalind, who will not talk, is hauled off to prison for the crime. Because the victim had no heirs, the other farmers presume his land will be divided amoung them. However, his will states that it will be given to his long-exploited peasant workers, an act he hopes will cause them to kill each other fighting over the land.