Inspector Peter Heiland has been transferred from Stuttgart to the Homicide Division in Berlin: the clumsy detective first has to find his feet in his hectic metropolis. But there is hardly any time for him to do so, because a vicious sniper has already killed four people, and the police are still completely baffled. Supt Ron Wischnewski can't stand Heiland, but he is from Swabia, as were three of the victims, and it seems likely that he can now contribute to the investigation, so Wischnewski grits his teeth and appoints him to the "Special Sniper Squad".