In this well-photographed and sometimes confusing wartime drama, an Austrian village experiences the tragedy of war on several different levels. Within one family, the younger son is jealous of the praise his father gives to a Polish POW who is working for them under very difficult conditions. Within the village as a whole, the French, Polish, and Russian POWs are kept under guard by Nazi soldiers, creating a tense situation all around. But more importantly, the village has conspired to hide an Austrian deserter in a cave up in the mountains. This act of rebellion on the part of the deserter and the village hangs in a precarious balance that could be upset by a single traitorous comment to the Gestapo.

Februar 1943: Seit 2 Jahren versteckt sich der Deserteur Santner in den von den Einheimischen als 'Heidenlöcher' bezeichneten Höhlen eines einsamen Salzburger Gebirgstales. Santner wird von seiner Frau und dem Bauern Dürlinger mit Lebensmitteln versorgt. Nachdem Dürlinger seinen Sohn Ruap in Anwesenheit des polnischen Kriegsgefangenen Jacek geohrfeigt hat, will Ruap das Versteck Santners verraten.