After exhausting marches through stony deserts and over towering mountains, after unspeakable hardships and costly battles, the Crusaders finally stand before the gates of Jerusalem, which they set out to conquer three years ago. On July 15, 1099, the warriors of Christ storm the fiercely defended walls of the Holy City and carry out a bloody massacre among the local population. Shocked and horrified by the brutal slaughter, the Crusader Gerold von Falkenburg leaves the blood-soaked city with his companions and returns to his homeland later that same year. With the rich spoils he acquired during the Crusade, the knight purchases a piece of land on the edge of the Harz mountains and has a new castle built there. At a meeting with friendly nobles, he encounters Margarete, the sister of his former beloved Mathilde, who has been infatuated with him since childhood. Gerold falls in love with the beautiful maiden and, with her consent, asks her family for Margarete's hand in marriage. However, before he can enjoy the happiness of his new great love, he has one more task to fulfill: he must bring the culprits responsible for his brothers' deaths to justice.