The story of the last days of Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter (1907-43), who was executed by the Nazi regime because of his refusal to compromise with a perverse system.

The film presents the political events surrounding the Anschluss in March of 1938 through the lives of Carola Hell, a popular young actress at the prestigious Theater in der Josefstadt, and Martin Hofmann, the Jewish journalist she plans to marry. When we encounter the couple in the lovely springtime weather their future is full of promise. They are determined to stay clear of politics. Yet in the climate of the time, nobody of her prominence or his religion can remain apolitical. Although Martin's journalist friend, Drechsler, calls to inform them that the Nazis plan to take over Austria soon, they concentrate on their work and their private happiness and dismiss the warnings.

An enormously wealthy woman returns to her hometown with a dreadful bargain: She wants the townspeople to kill the man who jilted her in exchange for enough money to revitalize the town.