Narrative

The tale starts with Gottfried Todenhöfer, who, on a miserable Sunday morning, succumbing to the psychological toll of his crushing debts, decides to hang himself. (Read the first chapter here.)

Carolina Romanova's story starts with her being in one hell of a hurry to meet Marie von Arx, her best friend, and lifelong soulmate. All Carolina knows is that the meeting is most urgent; the rest remains a mystery. As her thoughts wander off as to why, she almost gets overrun by a tram, were it not for Gottfried to pull her away last second. After Gottfried tends to her wound and escorts her to her destination, Café Landtmann, she meets a frightened and disillusioned Marie von Arx.

Vincent Fontaine's story starts by being violently roused from his afternoon nap at the paddle steamer named Vicki. He is awoken by his highly conscientious manager, Ladislous von Kraus, who can barely keep it together as nothing seems to go according to plan.

Rocco Romano never intended to break his promises, but when the burnt-out legendary mercenary refuses to kill a woman named Rosa Leyen, he is summoned to the Goldschild headquarters at the Maîtresse.

In Rocco's presence, a clandestine meeting takes place consisting of Nathaniël and Konstantin Goldschild, Michael Splindegger, and Manuel Kronenberg. After overhearing their plan to game the financial system, he is held responsible for his shortcomings, gets branded by an iron on his face and is taught a lesson in obedience.

When Gottfried is about to kick his chair, unanticipated knocking on his door keeps him from going through with it. It turns out to be an invitation to a pleasure ball, signed by his long-lost friend Vincent Fontaine.

Nostalgic of the good old days and weary of living, Rocco feels ready to to drown his pain and sorrows at the Maîtresse, but instead rekindles with his old flame, Barbera Engl.

Marie tells Carolina about a devious financial scheme she uncovered surrounding the upcoming monetary reform, to which Carolina feels she can only call Marie out on the absurdity of her outlandish beliefs.

Rocco and Barbera fall hopelessly back in love, catch up on old times and spot Rosa, who is being kept, seemingly uncomfortable, by Reinhold Lehner.

When Vincent is instructed to play composed but instead decides to musically explode, he is fired on the spot. With one less care in his world, Vincent embarks on a heartfelt rendezvous with his long-lost friend, Gottfried Todenhöfer, and promises him to clear his debts - making Gottfried burst out in tears - and incites him to never stop having fun.

At the height of the tempestuous conversation between Carolina and Marie, two of the reforms' key players, Wenzel Goldbach and Reinhold Lehner, unexpectedly join in. The men threaten not to interfere.

Quickly infatuated with Barbera again, Rocco talks and waltzes, until he loses sight of her. He then runs into Rosa Leyen, and tells her to run for her life. Another assassin, Joseph Einzel, spots him doing so.

After Vincent sends off Gottfried with a courtesan named Rosa Leyen, he courts a lady named Leontine Kurzweil, who gives him a mysterious note with his father's name on it. But gunfire erupts before they can get intimate, and a frantic panic ensues. An unknown man threatens and grills Leontine on whether she is Rosa. When she does not answer, he murders her in cold blood. Vincent manages to escape.

When Gottfried sits at his lawyer’s practice to discuss the terms of his divorce, he cannot help but overhear a conversation between his lawyer and two men named Michael Splindegger and Manuel Kronenberg, revealing that they plan to cross the Goldschilds and murder them. When confronted by his lawyer, Johann von Gapp, Gottfried decides to lie, telling him he just sat down, not overhearing a single thing. Once in Von Gapp’s office, Gottfried, in complete bewilderment, finds out he will lose guardianship over his children. As a result of his debts, Elise accuses Gottfried of breaking his marital vows.

Having sobered up, Rocco gathers all his courage and asks Barbara to marry him: To run away and never turn back. Barbera agrees on one condition: that Rocco helps her sister, Camilla Engl, who she believes is in trouble.

To reconcile her conflict with Marie, Carolina has decided to visit her by surprise on Monday. Upon arrival, however, Carolina discovers Marie hanging dead from the ceiling. While Carolina is about to cut Marie loose, she notices people approaching, to which she decides to hide.

Gottfried heads to Vincent at Schloss Cobenzl for emotional support. When he breaks the Goldschild story, Vincent tells him about a discovery of his own involving his father and persuades him to get to the bottom of things.

Rocco decides to help out Barbera's sister, but after he encounters Konstantin Goldschild on the RingStrasse, he and Barbara are forced to flee, taking refuge at an ally behind the Preacher's Chair until the threat is cleared.

Vincent ponderingly plays his concert zither until Gottfried re-joins him and tells him about a conversation he overheard at the practice of his lawyer, Johan von Gapp. It involved two men, Michael Splindegger and Manuel Kronenberg, who have hatched a complex plot to cross the so-called Goldschilds. As Vincent connects the dots and finds out Leontine's note is actually a hit list with his father's name on it, he tries to persuade Gottfried into helping him.

Two men by the names of Nico and Francesco enter and start to ransack Marie’s place in search of a journal. The men find nothing, but Carolina does. When reading the diary, Carolina happens upon clues that could lead to more answers. Hoping to learn the significance of the notes, Carolina feels obligated to get to the bottom of it and decides to take matters into her own hands.

Rocco takes Camilla with him against her will until two uninvited gunslingers corner them and hold them at gunpoint. When a police officer joins in, they all find themselves in a confrontation with no winnable strategy.

Gottfried, full of doubt, struggles to decide whether to join Vincent and cites the numerous unforeseen complications. Vincent, however, determined to leave no stone unturned, forces Gottfried to reconsider and proposes a plan.

Barbara gets murdered. In an act of violent interrogation, Rocco finds out Konstantin Goldschild and Augustin Salvatore del Tore, an old acquaintance, are to be held responsible.

With the untimely death of his beloved Barbera still bitter in his mouth, Rocco heads to the Wicked Witch in search of answers. But due to the blindness of his revenge, he gets into a fight with a burly fellow named Moritz. Barely alive, Rocco manages to beat the man into a pulp, to which a fight broker by the name of Hugo Léon approaches him with an offer. In a showing of fighting cards, Rocco spots Joseph Friedlander, the man who branded him. He decides to follow Hugo to the St. Marx Slaughterhouse for a proposed bare-knuckle fight.

Somewhat against his will and better judgment, Gottfried falls victim to Vincent’s idea of getting themselves disguised.

The St. Marx slaughterhouse soon becomes the theatre of a veritable hunting scene as Joseph is captured, and every other rival desperately attempts to keep one step ahead of Rocco.

While pretending to be a house maiden, Carolina makes her way to an investor party at the address she found in Marie's notebook, a party for high and mighty hosted by one Nathaniel Goldschild. After she bluffs her way into the servant’s quarters, she is allowed to serve drinks, though she nearly blows her cover due to a lack of skills.

All are dispassionately murdered at the St. Marx slaughterhouse, except for Joseph, who confesses to Rocco that Konstantin can be found at palace Belvedere that night.

Gottfried and Vincent head to Von Gapp’s law practice with Vincent pretending to be the son of a wealthy business magnate.

While holding Konstantin Goldschild responsible for the murder of Barbera, Rocco rides to Mehmed, an old friend, to cash an old check. Mehmed provides Rocco with a dragon-shaped flame thrower, one of the world's most carefully guarded secrets.

When sneaking around the palace, Carolina overhears a conversation between Nathaniel Goldschild and Michael Splindegger in an adjourning room that explains how gold is bought from Barberton Witwatersrand, brokered to the Austro-Hungarian central bank, hypothecated to the treasury, and rehypothecated under the name of the gold standard. Carolina steals the documents and the ledger from Nathaniel’s desk and leaves as fast as she can. She is then detected but manages to escape.

Ready to watch the world burn, Rocco heads to Palace Belvedere. On his way there, he obtains a plague doctor's masque and is able to attend the masked ball unnoticed. After finding out the whereabouts of Konstantin, he confronts him with his deeds and unleashes a maelstrom of fiery destruction.

When the situation escalates and papers start flying, Gottfried finds a letter that turns out to be a marriage certificate between Von Gapp and Elise Aigner, his ex-wife. Overwhelmed by the situation, Gottfried and Vincent try to flee but quickly run into a guard who attempts to attack Vincent. Left with no choice, Gottfried shoots the guard with a revolver Vincent gave him. In total shock, Gottfried falls into paralysis. Vincent begs him to leave but decides he cannot wait when Gottfried remains unresponsive and leaves. Gottfried falsely accuses Vincent when more pursuers arrive.

While Belvedere is burning in the background, Rocco is cornered by another old friend, Augustin Salvatore del Torre, due to the enormous price on his head. Someone knocks him out unconscious.

In search of more answers, Carolina heads to Palais Ferstel pretending to be Marie for a meeting with David Guggenheim, the Austro-Hungarian Banks’ financial genius. With Carolina realizing she is way in over her head, their conversation soon escalates. Then Nathaniel walks in, calling her bluff.

Feeling betrayed by the undisclosed marriage of Elise and Johan von Gapp, Gottfried intends to take back his daughters, Zara and Tzirre. Gottfried and Elise end up arguing up to the point that Elise resorts to violence.

Nathaniel makes a proposal to Carolina: she can ask him anything, as long as she confesses her identity and all she knows, knowing full well the unspoken repercussions. In a confrontation full of fireworks, Nathaniel tells her about the hypothecated collateral and how it is used to secure new loans for the government to free up endless amounts of capital.

Deeply upset and shocked by the physical attack, Gottfried returns the favor and whips a heavy punch in Elise's face. While still screaming at each other over the custody of their children, Gottfried storms through the house and takes Zara and Tzirre.

In an ultimate showing of hubris, Nathaniel takes Carolina down to the gold reserves, only to be arrested by Manuel Kronenberg, the corrupt and highest-ranking official of the k.k. Gendarmerie, now conspiring against Nathaniel. In the ensuing chaos, Carolina is left behind.

When Gottfried finally arrives at his home with Zara and Tzirre, he encounters a strange man. The man blames Gottfried for killing the guard and inquires about Rosa Leyen. When Gottfried cannot oblige, the man forces him to choose one of his daughters over the other. Things end poorly when Gottfried cannot choose.

Two days pass until Rocco wakes up, wounded, tortured, and imprisoned in some unknown basement. Augustin tells him he is being kept as bait to lure Nathaniel, who has betrayed Augustin on a business agreement. Rocco, however, manages to escape his bonds and take any soul brave enough to enter the underground room until he has no choice but to step out.

Vincent goes back to look for his lost friend, only to find him unconsciously hanging from the ceiling. Vincent saves Gottfried, just in time.

Forced to surrender, Augustin holds Rocco at gunpoint until Karl Weisthor, Marshal of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Court, barges in. He is there to arrest Rocco on behalf of Michael and the clandestine members. After Rocco tells him to run off, Rocco becomes a witness to the hell on earth that is the battle between Karl's Imperial army and Augustin's Garduña.

Traumatized by the tragic event, Vincent waits for Gottfried to come back to his senses. When Gottfried finally does, he begs Vincent to save Rosa’s life. Torn between Gottfried's request and visiting his father, Vincent decides to go look for Rosa first.

Rocco survives, and after interrogating another survivor, he finds out Rosa Leyen is still alive. Rocco set out on a mad journey to rescue Rosa.

Per Gottfried’s request, Vincent journeys deep into the slums of Vienna in search of Rosa. He encounters a weary-of-life Rosa, caught between the debt she owes to Madame Prandtauer and taking care of her dying mother.

To dig deeper into the case, Carolina steps into Reinhold’s office, where she finds a letter appointing him to the position of president of the National Austro-Hungarian Bank, a position supposedly promised to Michael.

The mission to rescue Rosa turns out to be far more treacherous than expected when Rocco Romano, on the brink of death, bursts through the door. He, too, is looking for Rosa and beseeches everyone to run for their lives. In their escape, a couple of Hussars appear to be on their trail, leading Vincent and the others to seek shelter in one of the slum’s worst basement cesspits. Rocco collapses due to his injuries, and the situation of Rosa’s mother worsens, but they manage to escape.

With little left to live for, Gottfried has hung himself. In sheer confusion, however, he wakes up in his own bed. Vincent has saved him. While silently pondering about the meaning of life, Vincent, Rosa, Rosa's mother, and a wounded Rocco suddenly burst through Vincent's door, begging and screaming for help.

Gottfried operates Rocco and Rosa's mother, but due to a mistake, Rosa's mother loses her life, Rocco his left arm. At the end of her rope, Rosa spills the story of a far-reaching currency reform, the scheme of the century, and how her patron, Reinhold Lehner, now leads its commission.

Reinhold catches Carolina reading the letter and tries to prevent her from sharing the undisclosed knowledge with the world. At first, he threatens to ruin her career but soon resorts to brutally raping her. Carolina grows obsessed with having him atone for his deed and confess to his sins.

Per Rosa's request, Gottfried heads to Reinhold to plead for Rosa's mercy but ends up flattening the professor when he catches him in the act of raping Carolina.

Rocco wakes up at Gottfried's place, without his surgically removed left arm.

After having Rosa delivered back to Gottfried’s place, Vincent ventures out for the long-overdue inquiry into his father’s situation, weaving and tearing through the cobblestoned streets of Vienna.

Rosa then tells Rocco and the others about the scheme of the century. Rocco comes up with an idea to turn the tables.

At the city palace of the Fontaine family, instead of his father, Vincent encounters a mysterious villain who claims to have kidnapped his parents. He proposes a deal: Rosa in exchange for his parents' life.

After Gottfried has come to her rescue, Carolina begins her long quest to make Austro-Hungary debt-free once and for all, along with the assistance of Rocco and his fellow mercenaries. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare Carolina for the wild and unpredictable ways of gunslingers.

Rocco and Gottfried head to Elise to kidnap her. She is being used for leverage to force Von Gapp to draw up the formal documentation to counter the scheme.

Rocco and Gottfried force Von Gapp, by pressuring Elise, to draw up a debt repudiation document to create total debt amnesty: a Jubilee of biblical proportions.

After Mitterlehner is violently forced to sign the debt amnesty, he gets beaten, bonded, and stripped of all clothing, exposed to the eyes and jeers of the population, until murdered publicly.

Fear and violence escalate as the rebellious students start to claim their justice. Carolina starts to seriously question the motives of the revolutionary movement.

Against the backdrop of Vienna’s splendid Burgtheater, Vincent enters the theatre’s drug and prostitute-infested backstage world. After fighting off the advances of the guileful Adele, his counterpart for the brand-new production, he prepares himself to witness the fate of his parents from the stage.

When Rocco - having hatched a complex plot to gain the advantage - murders the mysterious apache before he can get to Rose, Vincent feels he can finally create a stir and spark a revolution. Completely consumed with his role, he gives the speech of a lifetime until murdered on the spot.

Rocco leads the rebellion to free Austro-Hungary from the tyranny of the clandestine empire.

During the violent revolt, Rocco and the thousands of rebellions successfully sway the soldiers to lay down their arms. On their way to the gold deposits, Rocco dies a terrible death as a result of his injuries. Despite the horror, he is relieved to have fought the good fight and imagines seeing Barbera again.

Although against her better judgment, Carolina joins the rebels on their way to Palais Ferstel, only to find that the rebels are as avaricious as the clandestine members. After a mass panic breaks out, she tries to escape and fights for her life, but many are trampled to death and start suffocating to the fire that breaks out. Horrified by the violent nature of human greed, she suffers a complete mental breakdown and dies as the result of psychosis.

The uprising in Vienna turns out to be a total disaster. As the city is almost destroyed, and Carolina, Rocco, and Vincent have died terrible deaths, everything seemed lost. When Gottfried is able to escape the madness, he finally becomes who he is.