In 1866 the Prussians withdraw from the German alliance and declare war on Austria. A sergeant of this army forces a Czech young man named Ludvík Machl to execute himself by hanging. However, the unfortunate man's road to death had already begun earlier. Ludvík was one of the patriotic conspirators who, among other things, had seized money from the Austrian printing press. However, he was tracked down in his lodgings by the police, who discovered some of the looted money and a pistol. Unlike the three other conspirators, however, Commissioner Melc offers him his freedom - if Ludwig becomes an agent of the Austrian police. Frightened, Machl signs under duress...