The Puppeteers

Richard (Petr Cemper), a monastery schoolboy, grows up far away from Augsburg as the illegitimate son of the ambitious Fugger family. When his mother, Zobeida (Veronika Strapkova), a Saracen who converted to Christianity, is burned at the stake for witchcraft, he stabs the inquisitor Heinrich Institoris (Philipp Moog). Jakob Fugger (Herbert Knaup) has him freed from prison. The powerful merchant begins to turn the boy into a functioning cog in his family empire. However, the daring adolescent cannot shake his urge for justice: he wants to hold everyone responsible for his mother's death accountable. Jakob is also doing everything he can to finally put an end to the medieval forces in the church-albeit for different reasons. To protect his investments in new business areas, he plans to elevate the compliant Cardinal Sforza (Jan Messutat) to the papal throne. However, Fugger's cool power plans are jeopardized when the grown-up Richard (now Samuel Schneider) once again comes under the scrutiny of the Inquisition. His lack of self-control also makes him a security risk. To regain Fugger's trust, Richard must submit and pass a test. The fate of the Fuggers is decided during the papal election: only if they succeed in enthroning their candidate as Holy Father can the Augsburg merchant dynasty permanently protect its mines in Hungary from the Turks.