Gold rush in the Salzburg mountains: After hearing rumours of new gold discoveries, the penniless Jakob Hirzbacher and his son Andris move to a village in the Hohe Tauern in the hope of finding work there. But there is no gold to be found in Gaisbach. The newcomers are met with great hostility by the village population and can only find refuge in a barracks camp in the forest, where like-minded migrant workers wash gold in the rivers. Jakob finds employment with the beautiful Katharina Radacher, whose family used to dominate the gold mining industry in the region. He falls in love with Katharina, who is fighting against ruin and is forced to sell her mining rights by the corrupt mining councillor Hubert von Feileis. When Feileis realises that Jakob is standing in the way of his negotiations with Katharina, he has him chased out of the village in a devious manner.