A stern patriarch's contrasting treatment of his sons, one favored and the other shunned, leads them down diverging paths of righteousness and rebellion in a small religious community.

The story centers on a family of priests: Johannes, Elisabeth, and their sons August and Christian. Johannes is God-like to his sons--he gives, loves, and punishes. His favoritism for August and his disappointment with Christian forces both into making desperate choices in order to either gain his love or break free from him.