Kurt Eigl

The wealthy farm heir Toni loves the maid Maria, but is supposed to marry the wealthy neighbor's daughter Annerl. She only has eyes for a penniless woodcarver. Only when Toni's stubborn father dies does a future for the lovers begin.

The Catholic priest Hell takes the orphan Annerl into his house as a maid. This soon gives rise to wild rumors in the town. To put an end to the gossip, the young woman decides to get married. Her old childhood friend is the chosen one.

When the cosmopolitan pastor Linhart takes care of the pregnant, unmarried maid Angela, the entire village believes that he must be the father of the child—especially when he takes in the baby Andreas after the mother's death. Twenty years pass. Andreas has grown into a handsome young man. The old rumors have long since been forgotten. But when Andreas falls in love with the pretty Hanni and the old farmer Santner wants to leave him his farm, the envy and hatred of the villagers are reawakened.