The story takes place in the early 1950s in the small village of Oberschönau in the Bavarian Alps. The teacher's daughter Maria and the young farmer Mathias want to get married soon. But a serious blow of fate puts a stop to the couple's plans: the hunting assistant Franz has been stabbed to death by a poacher, and the police find Mathias' knife at the crime scene. To avoid being arrested, the accused flees abroad. That's why most of the villagers believe that Mathias is the murderer. But Maria firmly believes in his innocence.