Could a 13-year-old alleged arsonist be sentenced to death? In 1697, a house along with a barn burned down in the small town of Schöneck in the Vogtland region. Several witnesses saw Marie, a nanny, running out of the burning building in panic. Her flight was considered a confession of guilt. Marie was imprisoned in the Fronfeste. The court was composed of the town's dignitaries, who dealt very arbitrarily with the truth—partly to cover up their own guilt, partly in hopes of financial gain. The scandalous trial dragged on for a year and a half. Wibke Martin, born in 1939 and a teacher in Vogtland until her retirement, investigated the documented fate of Marie. She spent six years researching local, family, and historical contexts. Now, a novel has been published that reveals the background of this tragic event for the first time.