In the law firm of lawyer Patricia Prinz, her husband is shot dead. Jasper Ünel was also a lawyer, but during the investigations by Lena Odenthal and Johanna Stern, his ambitious wife turns out to be the one who has attracted aggression. Currently, it is Marie Polat, recently dismissed without notice as an employee of a call center, who is no match for Prinz's skill and unscrupulousness in court. For the young woman, not only her job but also custody of her son depends on her winning the case against the call center.

Lena Odenthal and Johanna Stern experience how massively Polat's credibility is undermined in Patricia Prinz's trial. But Marie Polat is not the only one suspected of having taken the law into her own hands; Lena Odenthal is also accused of not having followed the legally prescribed procedure. In an internal procedure, she is suddenly accused of unjustified use of firearms, with Johanna Stern as the main witness.

Paul is kidnapped in the street. An attentive neighbor is killed by the kidnapper before she can give a statement. The parents receive a ransom demand, but detectives Lena Odenthal and Johanna Stern determine that it is a diversionary tactic. The case is strikingly similar to a kidnapping nine years ago, in which Swen, who was nine years old at the time, was released after months of captivity, apparently unscathed, but the perpetrator has not yet been identified. Swen seems to have survived the terrible experiences of his childhood. But he still cannot help the detectives, even though Johanna Stern manages to build a good relationship with the unstable young man. The detectives realize that Swen is being haunted by ghosts from his childhood experiences and that he is still traumatized. They need his memory to find the way to the kidnapper.