Lawyer Benni Hornberg’s life has so far run an orderly and middle-class course. On this morning, however, a telephone call was to turn it completely upside-down. Leo Oswald, an old school friend and Benni’s one-time best mate is back in town. After 20 years and countless criminal adventures in South America, Leo is in serious trouble: he is accused of killing respected entrepreneur Stefan Schwarz. And the circumstantial evidence presented by Public Prosecutor Conni Leinfelder is damning.
After some initial hesitation Benni, who is actually an attorney for insurance law – not criminal law – is determined to help his old friend Leo, despite the insistent warnings of his father-in-law Dr. Oskar Renners, in whose renowned law firm he works. Renners is currently involved with savvy star attorney Frederic Katzner and his other partners in pulling off a major insurance deal. The two friends soon realize that Katzner is not putting his cards on the table. But private eye Leo also knows all the tricks and still has some secrets up his sleeve that he doesn’t share with his old friend Benni. Benni therefore initially feels betrayed by his only friend. At the same time, Benni has to learn painfully that his wife Gabi has been having a wild love affair with her yoga teacher. His old happy life seems to be slipping off track for good. So Benni devotes himself all the harder to getting Leo out of trouble. Leo thinks he knows who murdered Stefan Schwarz. At an exclusive, private sex party, the business tycoon had met Marie, an escort. A few hours later, the pretty young student was found beaten to death. Schwarz was surely her murderer. But what else had gone on that evening? Leo had wanted to pay the industrialist a visit and confront him, but obviously someone got there first who saw to it that Schwarz would remain silent forever.
