Mandy and her friend Georg die in an explosive attack in the high forest. Commissioners Krüger and Fichte' investigation initially led to Mandy's ex-boyfriend Timo. It is swallowed up by the ground. Timo and his best friend Karl went to the Bundeswehr and Afghanistan together. Karl died in an operation, Timo remained physically unharmed, but has since suffered from a post-traumatic stress disorder. Krüger meets Timo's mother Katrin, who is afraid for her son. Krüger is drawn to this woman because he knows her trauma and that her son from his own experience with his father, who came traumatized from the Second World War. At first, Krüger is convinced that Timo has now committed suicide – like Krüger's father, who shot his wife first and then himself.
But when he finds Timo and can penetrate the young man in the thicket of the Spreewald, he realizes that it was not Mandy who was the intended victim, but Georg. Now Timo should put the deed in his shoes and he should also be blown up to make it look like suicide.