It tells the life story of the laborer Andreas Egger, who, as an orphan in the Alps at the beginning of the 20th century, comes to the farm of farmer Hubert Kranzstocker. The God-fearing but violent farmer sees Egger as nothing more than a cheap laborer. He is only cared for by his old ancestor. After she dies, Egger, who has now grown up, takes a job with a work work crew building one of the first cable cars.