The historic Kiel at the center of world politics. Kiel, 1896: While the secret German-Russian alliance negotiations between the Kaiser and the Tsar are in full swing, Commissioner Hauke Sötje finds himself caught between the fronts of the intelligence agencies. He is supposed to protect a traitor and realizes too late that he has fallen into a trap. Only the mysterious death of a maid, who is found floating in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, brings Hauke closer to the truth - a truth for which he is willing to risk his life.