After his stepbrother Jacob dies in an accident, farmer Matthias Ferner learns from Paula, Jacob's spouse of many years, that she and her two children will inherit the whole farm. She takes over command immediately, failing to realize that Matthias must feel like her servant. So he searches and destroys his brother's will and even swears perjury in court - but there's a witness he didn't count in.

Ein Tiroler Bauer, der nach der Vernichtung des Testaments und nach einem Meineid vor Gericht den Hof an sich gerissen und die Erben geprellt hat, geht, als die Wahrheit herauskommt, an seinem schlechten Gewissen zugrunde.