Summary: Jakob Simon fervently dreams of emigrating from his poverty-stricken life as the son of a blacksmith in Schabbach, a small village in rural Rhineland. As he studies the languages of tribal South America, the return from military service of his more worldly brother Gustav fails to break him from his daydream, but day-to-day living in Prussian feudal society means that his dreams have to be put on hold. In German with English subtitles. Black and white with colour sequences.