Scenical reading with the German actors Dietmar Bär as journalist Siggi Baumeister, Claudia Amm als Emma, and Günter Lamprecht as retired detective superintendent Rodenstock.

In Hildenstein the corpse of a thirteen-year-old girl is found, tortured and murdered. With the crime scene in chaos, the odds for the investigation are as bad as could be. As if that weren’t enough, Kischkewitz, the head of the murder squad, is viciously mobbed by his deputy. And the mood in the little Eifel town is turning explosive: in only four days four different people are anonymously accused of murdering little Annegret, and a group of pub regulars goes on patrol because the police are “incapable of protecting our children”.
Forensic biologist Benecke from Cologne helps the investigation along by finding some evidence after a laborious search. An excruciating procedure begins: all the male inhabitants of the village are asked to have their saliva tested – but the culprit is not identified. Was it a vagabond who just happened to pass by?
Retired criminal advisor Rodenstock tries to help the harassed Kischkewitz, but he is on his own at first: his partner Emma has her hands full with Aunt Anni, who is determined to end her life. And his friend, journalist Siggi Baumeister, has problems of his own. Then Vera returns; she has lost her job at the CID and no longer knows where she belongs. And to crown it all a young woman suddenly turns up claiming to be Baumeister’s daughter.
Despite all this, Baumeister, Emma and Rodenstock delve deep into the small town. At first, though, all they find are truths no one was looking for and no one wants to know. Finally the investigation focuses on a local mayor; suddenly politics play a role in the case. At the same time, rumors of Black Masses start making the rounds – the whole affair is becoming increasingly impenetrable.
When the culprit is finally cornered, everyone is speechless with amazement – the solution was so simple after all…