In a small town high in the Austrian mountains, Karl and Max are friends on the edge of adulthood.
Karl dreams of being a teacher and calling Hallstatt home for the rest of his life. Max, desperate to escape the poisonous influence of his mother, is increasingly tormented with jealousy over his friend's bond with the brilliant and passionate Elsa.
Then, a tragedy in the local salt-mines changes their lives forever.
As they leave their childhoods behind, Karl and Max walk very different paths. One trying to survive the horrors of war on the Russian front; the other in an unrelenting quest for power within the Catholic Church.
When they meet again many years later, they must face the memories that have haunted them since that fateful day in the mines. And confront the darkness that divided them.
The Betrayed is an epic story of friendship, love, loss and the power of destiny.