In 1867, a good-natured Bavarian priest is sent by God and mad King
Ludwig to the wilds of North America. Soon the backwoods are transformed
into a parish and the settlers into a congregation, and Joseph Becker, a
woodcarver, meets his future wife. Several decades later, Joseph Becker
teaches his astounding carving skills to his grandchildren. One of them,
Klara, shows exceptional talent and has a surfeit of what the local nuns
call "a fondness for men's work". Untamed, she falls in love with Eamon
O'Sullivan, an Irish boy, only to have him leave to fight in the Great
War....