Hoping to become a great singer in Germany, a young dreamer named Ernst Schrämli finds himself drawn into underhand dealings. Determined to escape a suffocating environment that annihilates any kind of creative or artistic impetus, Ernst sells information about the Swiss army to a Nazi spy by the name of August Schmid, who charms and manipulates him. When Ernst’s crime is uncovered, he is sentenced to death for espionage and treason, becoming the first Swiss citizen to be executed.
Chronicles the fate of Frieda Keller, a young seamstress in St. Gallen who, in 1904, is accused of murdering her 5-year-old son Ernstli.
Barbara Hug is a young radical lawyer fighting Switzerland's antiquated prison system in the 1980s. Walter Stürm is in and often escaping out of jail becoming known as the Jailbreak King. When the two meet an unlikely alliance is formed.