Murder on the ICE train on the Ulm-Stuttgart line. The train comes to an abrupt stop at Geislinger Steige. A man flees in panic and disappears into the steep slope of the Swabian Jura. Commissioner August Häberle is left in the dark for a long time: he knows neither who the victim is nor whether the fleeing man has murdered him. His only clue is the dead man's notebook. But do the addresses of doctors and pharmacists contained within really lead to the perpetrator? Time is running out for Häberle, as he discovers another body the very next night.