An Egyptian billionaire buys a valley in the heart of Switzerland. The villagers, stricken by migration, are hoping for investments and better times. Fractious farmers are charmingly displaced, then the excavator arrives and stomps a luxury resort for the international jetset out of the ground. This is the story of Andermatt, a village in crisis, awakened from its slumber by a kiss from the multi-billion investor Samih Sawiris, who transforms home and hope into tradable goods.

From the first turn of the sod, up to the opening of the first luxury hotel four years later, the film accompanies opponents and supporters, architects and sales agents of the mega-project. How will the growing village community survive the avalanche of change – in a world where no one is spared from financial crises, revolutions and seizures of power?