Summer 1780: On the way to Salzburg Emanuel Schikaneder's theatre group gets held up in a small mountain village on the Austrian border due to a missing performance permit. In this village a dispute between mine owner Paccoli and the rebelling mine workers is escalating. The situation immediately inspires Schikaneder with the idea for a new play- but before long not only the mineworkers, but also Schikaneder's performers take to the picket line. This is because Schikaneder seems to care more abo...