For Count Egge, there is only one meaningful way of life: living in the magnificent natural surroundings of his mountains. Only hunting matters to him; he even neglects his own children for its sake. Inevitably, this leads to conflicts that result in tragic alienation within the family. These conflicts continue even after the youngest son, Willy, is found dead and Count Tassilo, the eldest, breaks with his father, whose stubbornness he can no longer bear.