Somewhere on a remote plateau. Johann has taken over his father's farm. He dedicates all his time and energy to it.
Before winter, a barn full of hay burns, tipping the fragile balance of Johann's farm into the red. He withdraws into himself. A prisoner of his inheritance, he continues to accomplish the same daily tasks and tries to love as best he can the world in which he lives. He is unable to become attached to the people around him, at the exact moment when this world is on the brink of disappearing.