Grandma Ohler is in despair; the world around her has gotten out of joint. Her granddaughter Anna is having an affair with the building contractor Bliesheim, taking up with a new clique that has money to burn. The whole situation has brought Anna's husband Rolli to the verge of collapse. And now, on top of everything, Kinsi has vanished. Kinsi lives in Grandma Ohler's village, is considered mentally retarded and earns his living with odd jobs.
This is the story the old lady tells Siggi Baumeister. But Baumeister can't help Grandma Ohler; after all, he's a journalist, not a private detective or a priest.
Soon afterwards Kinsi is found hanged in a barn. Now Baumeister's curiosity is sparked; he begins to ask around. There are some funny things about the story: the supposedly mentally retarded man had been reading Mann, Böll and Grass. And he had been about to get married – did Kinsi really kill himself?
Then the corpse of Elvira Klein, a member of Anna's clique, is discovered – and it is clearly murder. There is no apparent motive to be seen. Baumeister follows the lead of the money – what is the provenance of the bills the clique "charitably" spreads about? When Anna is killed as well, there are finally suspects: her husband Rolli, who could have done the deed out of jealousy, and the building contractor Bliesheim, who might have wanted to get rid of a tiresome lover or a woman who knew too much. But how is this case related to the other murders?
The journalist has plenty on his hands – and that at a time when his friends Rodenstock and Emma are traveling in the USA and his Aunt Anni is occupying his farm. And Vera? – Vera takes up a new job at the LKA, far away from Baumeister …