Crystal Key IV: Hejnice Pastoral

The four-part chronicle tells the story of the fate of the North Bohemian business family of the Heřmans from the end of the 17th century until the abolition of serfdom at the end of the 18th century. Life peripeties of the family members, who become glass and textile entrepreneurs, artists, officials and scholars, are intertwined with the stories of distinctive North Bohemian characters - the Kinský family, by the hermits of Sloup, Polev and Shen traders, members of secret evangelical sects, Jesuits and various imperial officials and priests.

In the final part of the tetralogy, the Falknovská hut returns partly back to the ownership of the Heřman family. However, the North Bohemian glass industry is not doing as well as it used to and so individual members of the family have to look for new business opportunities. Matyáš stays with his itinerant yarn trade, while his brother Ambrož continues the family tradition of glassmaking at his own Acacia smelter. However, their sister Vilemína, who benefits from the boom in linen production, is doing best. As a wealthy owner of a bleach factory, she gains influence on the Kamenice estate thanks to her son, whose secret father is Count Kinský. Pavlina is an equally successful businesswoman, who becomes rich from military supplies of rifle barrels because of the death of Emperor Charles VI. the protracted wars over the Austrian heritage will begin. This is a tricky matter for the eldest man of the family, Johann, who, as a manorial official, has to decide between the nobility and his family...