Junior doctor Max Liebermann asks to observe a criminal case for his studies. Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt reluctantly offers him full access to the case of a murdered woman.

Oskar is called away from Max and Clara’s engagement party with news of a murder in a Spittelberg brothel. Oskar is quick to make an arrest, but Max is not convinced that they have the right man.

Max's nephew suffers a breakdown after the drowning of a fellow cadet at a military academy. The police department refute suspicions but Max shows Oskar a pattern of violence and believes that they're looking at a murder investigation.