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 about spending time with high society than his actors, who the Landlord refuses to feed until Schikaneder pays the outstanding bill.
