When Chief Inspector Schumann delivers the news to Anne Haug’s family that she has been found dead, he is overcome by an uneasy feeling. The Haugs are guarding a dark secret.
Daughter Julia disappeared ten years ago when on vacation in Thailand with her boyfriend. The case was never solved and Julia has been listed as missing ever since. Anne Haug never gave up hope and followed up each and every lead regarding her daughter’s whereabouts.
Julia’s boyfriend at the time, Michael Zühlke, has now moved back in with his parents next door. His most recent girlfriend has kicked him out. Schumann finds a video that was made shortly before Julia and Michael’s departure. We see that the two families were once close. Sisters Bettina and Julia Haug grew up with Michael Zühlke. The neighbors continued to support each other even after Julia’s disappearance. But Anne Haug found no peace. She kept asking Michael exactly what happened in Thailand. But he refused to speak about it.
Anne’s husband Oswald and her younger daughter Bettina wanted to have Julia declared dead, but Anne would not allow it. She frequently went over to the Zühlkes’ house and threatened them on their doorstep. She also paid Michael's ex-girlfriends visits to warn them about him. Perhaps rightly so – Michael was then reported for assault. Schumann wonders whether Anne Haug suspected that Michael had also been violent to Julia. Is Michael dangerous or is Anne being obsessive?
Her neighbors and her own family have witnessed how Anne tends to get bogged down in the past. Only in self-help forums has she felt understood. Schumann meets Anne’s closest confidant. Does she have the evidence against Michael that Anne has been looking for all these years? And who was it that finally silenced Anne Haug?
Schumann delves ever deeper into two family spheres that are connected by a terrible fate. He senses that the perpetrator is very close to home.
