In 1934, young archaeologist Robert returns to his home in Salzburg after spending several years working in Crete. He wants to officially break up with his original fiancée Hannah, as he has fallen in love with his employer's wife. But his personal plans get caught up in the political turmoil of the Austrian coup year. In a small village, he and Hannah find themselves caught between the fronts of the coup plotters and the Home Guard troops. A defenseless deaf-mute is to be lynched as a scapegoat. To protect him, Robert invents a mysterious "man in the reeds." But Hannah also eventually falls victim to the unrest.