A new case confronts Commissioner Borowski with grisly finds. Remains of human bodies appear in the sewers in Kiel – teeth, hair, hip joints. They come from several bodies, and show clear traces of acid. Inspector Borowski and his colleagues are puzzled: where did the remains come from, how did they end up in the sewers and how many people did they belong to? Investigations begin with the unsolved cases. Some cases from years ago. But the 19-year-old student Doreen Winter has only been missing for two days. The commissioners are alarmed. In the middle of the difficult investigation, the perpetrator turns himself in: Father Albert Benz, who heads a small Catholic community in Kiel. Who preaches, accompanies the dying and hears the confession.
A pastor as one wishes for him. But Benz insists that he is the culprit. A confession, not a confession. Because Benz takes the blame on himself, but then nothing more can be gotten out of him. Borowski doesn't believe a word of Albert Benz. He's looking for a motive. Not for a motive, but for Benz's motive to lie. Absurdly, Borowski spends his time trying to prove that a confessor is not the perpetrator. The priest and the policeman, two in search of meaning. When Borowski has conjured up the decisive rapprochement between him and Benz, the priest himself becomes a victim. The desperate father of the missing Doreen shoots at Benz and seriously injures him.