A mysterious forest die-off is troubling the people in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district. Commissioner Roland Otto initially investigates reluctantly. However, when two children die, it becomes clear that a murderous blackmailer is at work. A race against time begins. The investigation takes Roland Otto and Lore Kukuk along the Huguenot and Waldensian paths deep into the past. And Lore discovers something about her ancestors that would have been better left in the dark.