Berlin. In a desolate tenement block the police discover the gruesomely severed body of a man. Apparently a piece of his genitals has been bitten off, the head was bashed with a clarinet. Head Detective Bernie Kominka's investigations lead him to a woman in a red coat, and from there straight into the turbulent labyrinth of his feelings. He falls in love with his main suspect and loses control of his senses not knowing whether or not the woman he is attracted to is a brutal murderer.