Behind the popular Bergblick restaurant, an elderly lady in an elegant suit is found dead by the waitress in the morning. She has a wound on her temple and a hematoma on her wrist. Beissl recognizes the dead woman as Alma Reger, a helpful town hall employee and mother of teacher Florian Reger. The waitress remembers that the deceased had been a guest there several times with a "younger" man. The day before, a table had been reserved for 5 p.m. in the name of Reger.

The pathologist determines the preliminary time of death to be midnight, but the cause of death is still unclear. A torn pearl necklace and a handbag are found on the premises.

The detectives begin investigating the next of kin, but Alma Reger had been living in an upscale retirement home for years after receiving an inheritance. There, a Romanian caregiver turns out to be her boyfriend.

Jerry Paulsen is on his way to a training course when the brakes on his company car fail and he ends up in a ditch. Fortunately, he gets away with a few minor scrapes. Beissl discovers Jerry's sports bag full of drugs in the car and has to investigate. Jerry vehemently denies having anything to do with the drugs and suspects that someone is trying to frame him. Could everyone have been so wrong about Jerry?

Johanna's mistrust also grows when she realizes that Jerry has not always been honest with her. He tries his best to prove his innocence. In the process, he and Johanna find themselves in mortal danger and a mysterious death occurs.