Sühnhaus tells the story of an address inextricably linked to misfortune: Schottenring 7 in Vienna. This was the site of the Ringtheater, where nearly four hundred people died in a fire in 1881. The essay film moves through stages in Austrian history, from the monarchy to the First and Second Republics, tracing the connections between images, events and ideas that may not at first glance appear to have much in common. As a ghost house movie without ghosts, it uses the history of a property as a starting point in the search for the real skeletons in Austria's cupboard.