One morning in March, a body washes up on the beach of Pellworm. The deceased is Arne Lorenzen, an investment advisor from Risum-Lindholm. The autopsy reveals that Lorenzen was the victim of a violent act. Although he drowned, external injuries and a severe brain hemorrhage suggest that someone must have dealt him a strong blow to the head beforehand. Commissioner Thamsen suspects the murderer to be among the banker’s clients, as many of his investors lost large sums of money after the major stock market crash at the New Market. This includes the freight forwarder Sönke Matthiesen, who had invested his last liquid assets in some stock deals and is now facing ruin. Even before the insolvency, he had hired the business consultant Tom Meissner. Meissner is also interested in the case and soon starts to investigate further.