1933: Contagion

This is where it all begins: Three boys. One girl. One fire.

A lot of fire.

When Karl invites Ludwig and Gustav to the Hitler Youth Midsummer bonfire, he doesn’t intend them to wander off and find a flock of sheep in distress. But they do, and by the time Ludwig can warn the farmer, the sheep are all dying or dead.

An isolated incident on a badly-managed farm? That’s what Maria-Teresa’s father, the new vet, thinks. That’s what everyone would have thought, if the strange illness didn’t soon become an epidemic, killing sheep, cattle, even pigs – destroying livelihoods and lives. The farmers are thrown into turmoil; the local Party officials are happy to find them a scapegoat; villagers turn against villagers…

A philanderer returns to the area with huge wealth and an even huger grudge.

A vagrant has settled on a mountain where he has no business being.

An avuncular family doctor is the only person who believes Ludwig’s theories and will go out on a limb to help the friends, but he, too, has a secret to hide.

This is Bavaria in 1933: Wildfire – Contagion.