Eleven-year-old Toni lives with his mother and his dog in the “Goldwasher House” outside the village, directly beside the river. In the old days, his grandfather actually did pan for gold here, gaining the reputation of a man who wanted to get rich fast – without doing an honest job. Since then, the house has been spurned by the other villagers. Farmer’s son Hans has it out for Toni in a big way. He not only bullies him, he also disputes Toni’s right to “Gold Bay” by the river – the place where Toni tries to pan for gold like his grandfather. When Toni actually does find gold, Hans is envious and starts panning for gold himself. Instead of gold, however, he unearths an old carbine and ammunition buried there after the Second World War. Now he is convinced of his strength and sets out to exact his retribution on Toni ...