Berlin 1934. The world is blind. Bernie Gunther is not. The Nazis have just come to power, and Bernie Gunther wants to attract as little attention as possible as a private detective at the Hotel Adlon. But then a hotel guest dies. When the body of a Jewish boxer is found in the Landwehr Canal, Gunther gets caught up in a web of criminal activities surrounding the construction of the Olympic Stadium. At the same time, the Americans threaten to boycott the Games. A strong proponent of a boycott is the beautiful Jewish-American journalist Noreen Charalambides. Bernie succumbs to her charm. Both find themselves in the crosshairs of the Nazis.