How victims become perpetrators, and how this unstoppable process that transcends all boundaries of cruelty unfolds - this is told by Friedrich Ani, the master of noir, in a gripping, surprising, and empathetic manner. At the age of fourteen, a boy flees from the southern German village of Heiligsheim. Forty years later, he returns as Ludwig "Luggi" Dragomir: alcohol, drugs, and all the wars he fought against himself and others in Berlin could not erase the memories of the abuse he and his playmates suffered at the hands of the dignitaries of Heiligsheim. The guilt of not having protected his friends drives him. Since his arrival, several older gentlemen have gone missing, some are found dead - whether by accident or murder is what Commissioner Anna Darko is trying to uncover. Ludwig also comes under suspicion because he is a ver.