Plot Summary

Signs and wonders are said to be happening in Trutzlaff, a small village in Mecklenburg. The party secretary of the local LPG, Mattes Mathias, has the "second face", which has been passed down from generation to generation in his family and is first mentioned in the witches' church chronicle in 1681. This special bond with the church lives on to this day. Mattes engages in a constant but creative competition with Pastor Himmelknecht. But it is not only his weather forecasts that come true every day. With his miraculous powers, Mattes tracks down lost things and heals the sick. Mattes' reputation reaches far beyond the village of Trutzlaff to the district town. A letter from the village cobbler has even reached the Vatican. Both here and there, people have pricked up their ears and want to get to the bottom of the matter. ... The only one who keeps a clear head is Mattes. But then there is "The crazy smell of fresh hay"!