一户农民家庭惨遭灭门之祸,一夜之间被一把鹤嘴锄夺走六条人命:老农民、他的妻子、女儿、两个孙子,就连昨天刚到的女仆也未能幸免。这不是一起谋财害命案,因为农民家积聚的钱财分文未少。嫌疑人很多,可能是那些在附近埋藏武器的极右分子,也有其他种种的猜测。有人说农民35岁的女儿的第二个孩子有可能是跟父亲生的,为了掩盖丑闻她又找了个情夫。也有人怀疑作案的是在一战中失踪的她的丈夫——会不会是他悄然潜回,对乱伦的妻子实施了报复呢?不,这不是哪位小说家杜撰的故事,而是一件实实在在的案例,它于1922年4月1日发生在德国南部巴伐利亚州一个偏僻的小山村里,奇怪的是该案至今未破,最后的一次审讯甚至是在1986年!审讯档案还在,惟独不见了牧师的陈述,会不会是他从村民们的忏悔中知道了凶手是谁呢?The young Kathrin returns to the small village where she was born to bury her mother, whom she barely knew. Piece by piece she learns the details behind the gruesome murder of an entire family on a farm near the village. It has been two years since the murder happened, but the memories are still vivid and Kathrin's visit is stirring up the past. Almost everybody seems to have had a reason to be the murderer, who has never been found.