Hans Tinkler is a gifted watchmaker living in Henkel on the outskirts of the Bavarian Forest. The local townspeople treat Hans with suspicion because of the rumour that he was long ago involved in the murder of a young woman in the forest.
Unbeknown to the townspeople, he is also one of the five sentinels, all with magical powers, who all that time ago unwittingly released an evil spirit into the forest and were forced to take up strategic positions to prevent the evil escaping to threaten the world.
But times are changing. By chance, at the moment of Hans' untimely death, his power and responsibility are transferred to Thomas, the ten-year-old son of his housekeeper. And it is Thomas who goes into the forest to overcome dark forces and imprison the evil spirit.