With the age of feudalism in decline, Europe rests at a tense crossroads between the old world and the new. Respected, well-to-do horse merchant Michael Kohlhaas is a loving husband and family man leading a peaceful existence, until a ruthless nobleman steals his horses, setting off a chain of irreversible events. Kohlhaas resorts to extremes after these crimes destroy his livelihood and trust in the law, igniting a rampage through the countryside in his quest for justice.