Algeria: Africa's largest country, blessed with wealth, torn from within. Here, a German arms manager is kidnapped, allegedly by Islamist terrorists, according to the Algerian secret service. However, for BKA officer Ralf Eley, stationed at the German embassy in Algiers, too many pieces of the puzzle don't fit together. Yet he cannot investigate without risking expulsion. So he does it discreetly, with the help of Algerian investigating judge Amel, his secret lover. Soon it becomes clear that much more is at stake than the life of a kidnapped person. Numerous leads point to Germany, to a Swabian arms manufacturer. And Eley realizes: If he wants to bring the truth to light, he must risk everything. Oliver Bottini masterfully weaves the theme of (German) arms exports into a gripping crime novel. He precisely explores the complexities involved.