In Oberammergau, just before Pentecost in 1670, there is great excitement. During the rehearsals for the famous Passion Play, the actor portraying Christ is found dead. He has been crucified. Everyone suspects everyone else. The executioner Jakob Kuisl from Schongau and the barber Simon Fronwieser are asked to investigate the death, but they encounter a wall of silence. When another actor dies a martyr's death, the villagers believe it to be a punishment from God and are even less willing to speak to the two outsiders. It is only when Kuisl's daughter Magdalena arrives in Oberammergau that the executioner and his family find a clue to the murderer, leading them deep into the mountains.