The tale unfolds through the hazy memories of an elderly tailor, who reflects back on his past when he served as a village schoolteacher in the fictional Protestant village of Eichwald, Northern Germany. This story takes place between July 1913 and August 9, 1914, a time when the local powers—the pastor, doctor, and baron—exert their dominance over the village's inhabitants, including women, children, and farmers.
In this tightly-knit community, the fervent pastor punishes the youth during confirmation classes, instilling a deep sense of guilt for even the slightest misdeeds. He orders his pupils to wear white ribbons as symbols of their lost innocence and purity. A particularly harsh incident arises when his son admits to 'impure' actions; rather than understanding, the pastor reacts by binding the boy's hands to his bed each night—a cruel reminder of the strict moral code he enforces. Meanwhile, the village doctor, a widower, shows compassion towards the children he treats but subjects his housekeeper, also the local midwife with whom he is having an affair, to humiliation. Tragically, he also violates his teenage daughter, shrouding the household in shadows of abuse.
The baron, lord of the manor, sponsors harvest celebrations for the villagers, who largely work on his estate. Yet, when his young son suffers a grave injury at the hands of unknown attackers, he mindlessly separates from the devoted Eva, portrayed by Leonie Benesch, despite her unwavering support.
The schoolteacher's bond with Eva deepens, leading to a fateful visit to her family home during Christmas. He seeks her father's blessing for marriage, only to face hesitation masked as a testing period—a year-long delay before their union can be formalized.
As time passes, waves of unexplained tragedies ripple through the village. A wire strung between trees causes the doctor a devastating fall, and a farmer's wife meets a fatal accident at the sawmill due to compromised floorboards—her own son being the one responsible for vandalizing the baron's field. In an act of despair, the grieving husband eventually takes his own life. The baron's son, Sigi, disappears during the harvest festival, only to be found the next morning, bound and brutally beaten. Amidst these calamities, a barn at the baron’s estate catches fire, and the baroness confides her love for another man to her husband.
In the classroom, the pastor’s authority over his children and students leads to a humiliating instance where he punishes his daughter. She, in a rebellious act, frees the pastor's treasured parakeet—only for it to be later discovered on his desk, cruelly treated in the shape of a cross. A neighbor's daughter has foreseen dire premonitions regarding the midwife’s disabled son, who subsequently suffers a violent attack—his injuries further shrouded in mystery by a cryptic note quoting Exodus 20:5 found near the scene. Meanwhile, the steward of the baron reacts violently towards his own son for the theft of Sigi's flute.
In a desperate bid, the midwife commandeers a bicycle from the schoolteacher to reach the police, claiming her son knows the identity of his attacker. Strangely, they vanish from the narrative along with the doctor and his family, who leave behind a note announcing the closure of his practice—further deepening the shadows of suspicion and fear lingering over Eichwald.
Amidst growing doubts, the schoolteacher confronts the pastor, accusing him of shielding the truth and suggesting that his children might be behind the recent tragedies. Enraged, the pastor threatens to expose the schoolteacher's allegations to the authorities.
As the world braces for war, the film closes dramatically, capturing the somber atmosphere during Sunday church just as the narrator is about to meet Eva's father. A lingering tension pervades the peaceful village, leaving unsettling questions around the violent occurrences. The narrator is eventually drafted into the looming conflict of World War I, departing Eichwald forever, symbolizing the loss of innocence and the onset of darker times ahead.
