Welcome to Kitzbühel, Austria, where the beer is cold and the drama is hot. So hot, in fact, there's actual fire — at least in the beginning of the juicy six-episode Netflix drama Kitz. In the quaint Austrian ski resort town of Kitzbühel, a Revenge-style mystery centers around a local girl who infiltrates a rich and influential group of young people in order to avenge her brother's death (and sparks a literal fire in the process). While the drama is fictional, the town is very real. Read on for your introduction to the real and fictional life of Kitzbühel, and a glimpse at the show’s messy drama. 

The Aspen of the Alps

What is most notable about Kitz is that the namesake town of Kitzbühel is, in fact, a real place. The so-called "Aspen of the Alps" is located in the Austrian province of Tyrol, about 80 miles south of Munich (and, as such, a haven for the German elite, come wintertime). The quaint medieval village is known for its prime downhill skiing — it's the home of the annual Hahnenkamm downhill race — and luxury shops, with stunning chalets perched on a scenic mountainside. Kitzbühel is also just over 50 miles from another well-known Austrian Alpine town, Salzburg (aka the setting for The Sound of Music). Picture rolling meadows and snow-capped mountains in the spring, and powder-covered downhill slopes in the winter. 

The Townies

In the show, our heroine is 19-year-old Kitzbühel local Lisi (Sofie Eifertinger), a wannabe fashion designer who turned down a scholarship to design school in London after the tragic death of her older brother, Joseph (Felix Mayr), on New Year's Eve. Now a bartender for the rich and powerful who flock to the luxury resort, Lisi has hatched a plan to get revenge on the people she feels are responsible for Joseph's death. 

Her closest friend, local farm boy Hans (Ben Felipe), becomes her partner in crime as they try to take down the Munich elite. He also happens to be gay, and may or may not have a connection of his own to the group of well-off Germans spending the New Year's holiday in Kitzbühel.

The In-Crowd

Influencer Vanessa (Valerie Huber) is the ringleader of the high-class clique vacationing in Kitzbühel. The aspiring actress loves to be the center of attention and has a penchant for Mozartkugel chocolates and maintaining her picture-perfect public image.

Dominik (Bless Amada) is Vanessa's devoted, Maserati-driving boyfriend of three years and a car aficionado who dreams of becoming a race car designer. His powerful fashion-figure mother works with his girlfriend, complicating their relationship even further. 

Finally, Kosh (Zoran Pingel) is the outcast of the group. (He posts a photo of Vanessa without her consent, and then she holds a grudge about it for an entire year). He seems happy-go-lucky on the outside — outspoken and unabashedly queer — but, on the inside, he's reeling from his hotel-owner father's death. 

The Drama

Before Lisi's brother Joseph died, he spoke of a mysterious girlfriend who loved Mozartkugel chocolates and came from a very different world. On New Year's Eve last year, Joseph headed up the steep, winding mountain roads to meet up with this secret lover — despite the fact that he'd been drinking and the road conditions were perilous — because she’d texted and asked to see him. It didn't take long for Lisi to realize the secret girlfriend was Vanessa and for Lisi to blame the influencer for his death.

Now with the help of Hans, Lisi plans to make Vanessa pay for her loss — and untangle the dark circumstances behind Joseph’s death. But the glamor and wealth of Vanessa's world may prove too seductive for Lisi to uncover the truth — and her investigation may have life-altering consequences for the many whose lives are entwined in this deceptively idyllic town.