Shortly before his retirement, provincial detective Hartwich has more mysteries to solve than in his last 20 years of service put together: First, the charred body of a man in a diving suit is discovered after a forest fire, but the nearest lake is miles away. Then a dismembered female corpse turns up, wrapped in the bag of a drinks store that has sent out 1000 of them. And to make matters worse, Hartwich's successor, the eager Tobias Kutschke, starts work just as the investigation begins...