In the harbor basin of the picturesque coastal town of Carolinensiel, a woman's body floats. The deceased was the head of the local reading club. Shortly thereafter, a crime author who was researching a long-ago murder case in Carolinensiel goes missing. Chief Inspector Fenja Ehlers suspects that the death from back then is connected to today's events. However, she only realizes the cruel secret she is truly on the trail of when Inspector Bradford also begins to investigate a mysterious murder case.