A shady Nazi shock troop is on the move in Palermo, and the brown henchmen are supposed to loot the tomb of Frederick II in the cathedral. One who is knowledgeable about the life and death of the Staufer emperor has been blackmailed into assisting with the cultural theft—his beloved is interned in Ravensbrück and will only be released from the concentration camp if the grave treasure is stolen. At least, this is how a jazz aficionado named Urs Hürlimann from the 1930s remembers it in the year this novel is published. But that's not all: while the unwilling companion of the dark expedition tries to save his beloved from brown Germany, he is swept away by the story of another lover, which can be as little true as his own experiences and struggles: it is the tale of a troubadour from the time of the Staufer emperor, who wants to rescue his lady love from the clutches of a powerful intrigue.