In Reichenbach, the political world still seems to be in order. There is exactly one social democratic vote in every election. Naturally, people think they know who this incorrigible person is. But when old Querdenke is buried, things get complicated. A letter is found in his estate that causes Mayor Singhammer a great deal of embarrassment. It is said to be the result of an affair between his mother and the recently deceased old man. And he threatens to reveal this secret posthumously if Singhammer doesn't parry. A letter to this effect has been deposited with the notary. The scandal can be avoided if a "red" vote is cast in every election from now on.

The play is set in the time of our Prince Regent Luitpold, who years ago went hunting with the dignitaries of the community of Gombach. When a stately stag ran across their path, His Serene Highness put on his gun but missed the stag. The animal has been allowed to live ever since. To commemorate this hunting trip, the people of Gombach celebrate an annual festival at which the Prince Regent's target is shot. The Prince Regent never misses the chance to shoot in the competition and of course he wins every time. But the truth is that he is a lousy shot and the people of Gombach find it harder and harder not to beat him every year.

Chiemgau in the early 1930s. The farmer Andreas Schrothammer has had bad experiences with his second wife and therefore no longer tolerates any women on his farm apart from the hard-of-hearing old maid Barbara.