In the late Middle Ages Orontius grows up in poverty in a peasant family. After the sudden
death of his mother his father entrusts him to the vagabond Eberlein to protect him from
hunger and hardship. The only condition is that Eberlein and his troupe take Orontius to a
monastery in Siegen on his 15th birthday. An adventurous time begins for the boy.At the
monastery Orontius learns about the life of the Franciscans and becomes a monk. It is during
this time that he meets Gregory of Metz with whom he forms a deep friendship. However he
doubts the abbot's integrity. After more than two decades Orontius leaves the monastery to
visit his father. There he discovers that everything has changed. From then on he learns about
life in all its brutality but also in all its beauty.
