Christmas time 1953, in the midst of the Cold War. In the icy, snow-covered Bologna, a murder occurs: the beautiful wife of a professor is drowned in her husband’s city apartment bathtub. Commissario De Luca, once Italy's best policeman, resumes the investigation after five years of involuntary leave. But nothing is as it seems. The inquiries and his passion for a young, dark-skinned jazz singer nearly cost De Luca his life, and in the end, he faces a grave decision.