 A remote farmhouse in the austrian alps. The farmerboy Kaspar kills his younger brother Michael in a fight. In fear he runs home without telling. Tormented by bad conscience Kaspar returns, only to find his brother s corpse gone. In great dispair Kaspar brings a sacrifice to the Virgin Mary. The next morning Michael returns, blood drenched, but alive. He claims that the Virgin Mary has resurrected him from the dead. Alone with his brother, Michael delivers a clear message from the Virgin Mary to Kaspar. For Kaspar a downward spiral of despair begins, that threatens his life.