A new case for the crime scene investigators from the capital: the Berlin meat king Hans Merklinger is found dead in the cold store of his factory. The dead man had been missing for several days, but was only reported missing by his lover Kathi (Alexandra Finder). When Ritter (Dominic Raacke) and Stark (Boris Aljinovic) enter the meat factory, there are no workers to be found. The boss's son, Maximilian (Lucas Gregorowicz), treats the commissioners with cool arrogance, as he is currently in contract negotiations with the Ukrainian Litvin brothers. They want to join the Merklinger company and are not bothered by the fact that the company was involved in a rotten meat scandal years ago. Merklinger's widow Christa (Maren Kroymann) was left by her husband a year ago.
She takes the news of his death calmly, while Kathi, who is already planning to marry Merklinger. planned to collapse. Ritter and Stark learn from Merklinger's longtime secretary, Ms. Balthasar (Johanna Gastdorf), that Merklinger has used a trick and the help of subcontractor Joachim Kahle (Ole Puppe) to turn Bulgarian workers into legal EU workers. Kahle's young friend Liljana (Ana Stefanovic) is one of these Bulgarians. When she wants to flee with her brother Viktor (Alexander Altomirianos), Ritter and Stark give chase. Knight is beaten up. He is hospitalized with a severe concussion. Stark is now forced to continue the investigation with Weber (Ernst-Georg Schwill).
What does Liljana have to do with Merklinger's death? Why did Maximilian not tell the police that his father had been missing for days? Stark has to unravel a web of subsidy fraud, shady dealings in the meat industry and a private tragedy. Ritter shouldn't really strain his head, but the case won't let him rest in the hospital either...