The series is set in the Austrian Alps and centers around a fictional Bergwacht (mountain rescue) team in Ramsau am Dachstein.
Each episode focuses on a rescue mission, explores the background stories of the people involved the incident (more often than not caused by their risky behaviour) and the private lives of the team members.
He is affected by the tragic death of Andreas Marthaler, not made easier by the initial reactions of the rest of the team to which he responds defensively.
Markus Kofler is an excellent mountaineer, enjoys risky stunts and says of himself that he is not a team player and likes old-fashioned things.
[1] Tobias Herbrechter (played by Markus Brandl) has been a member of the mountain rescue team for many years and was its leader for a short period.
After the death of his friend Andreas Marthaler he is devastated and cannot accept Markus Kofler as a member of the mountain rescue team.
Katharina Strasser (played by Luise Bähr) joins the team in series six as paramedic and is Tobias' half-sister.
He is open minded, technically adept and usually holds the fort in the mountain rescue office which is situated next to his shop.
Andreas Marthaler (played by Martin Gruber) is the leader of the mountain rescue team of Ramsau am Dachstein.
He is an expert mountaineer and wanted to open a climbing school in the USA until the death of his friend Stefan Hofer.
After that he cares for Stefan's wife Emilie and her children and their farm, which creates problems with his girlfriend Sarah (played by Stephanie Stumph) who wanted to emigrate with him to the USA.
Emilie Hofer (played by Stefanie von Poser) is a friend of the whole team and especially Tobias Herbrechter whom she marries in series seven.
Later she takes in Andreas' father Franz Marthaler and transforms the farm into a pension and in series seven invites Markus Kofler to stay as well even though her husband Tobias is still at loggerheads with him.
In Austria the organisation is called "Bergrettungsdienst" (literally: "mountain rescue service"), as seen on the logos on the team's jackets.