Breslau, 1919: the hideously battered, naked bodies of four sailors are discovered on an island in the River Oder. As he pieces together the elements of this brutal crime, Criminal Assistant Mock combs the brothels and drinking dens of Breslau and is drawn into an insidious game: it seems that anyone he questions during the course of the investigation is destined to become the next victim. At the same time, he is haunted by appalling nightmares; only nights spent drinking and carousing can keep demons at bay.