The authentic story of Maria Zechmeister who lived in an Upper Austrian village and was convicted of the murder of her husband. There was no evidence and no confession. Only rumors. Maria and the witnesses re-enact the trial before the camera. They tell about the marriage, the time the husband was a prisoner of war and his return from captivity. If he really had been poisoned or if she was a victim of injustice remains open. Maria Zechmeister was pardoned after serving 17 years in prison and lives in an isolated house at the outskirts of the village.
Max Taurus, a sort of amateur detective, pursues the traces of general omni-present crime back to a partially demolished house. There, the remaining tenants try to gain pleasure and power from progressive abandonment in order to tear down their own conventionalities.
