[2] The silent film is based on a novella of the same name by Steen Steensen Blicher about a true murder case from 1626.

[3] Søren Qvist, a village minister with a short-temper, is accused of murdering his unlikeable servant when the man disappears after an argument.

Erik Sørensen, the local judge, reluctantly investigates but he is conflicted because he is happily betrothed to the minister's daughter, Mette.

The minister, although he doesn't remember any murder, believes the evidence is undeniable and decides to confess—condemning himself to death.

He reveals his alleged murder was a cruel hoax constructed by his brother as revenge for his rejection as a suitor for Mette.