The novel opens in Nazi Germany in April 1964 during the week leading up to the 75th birthday of Adolf Hitler Detective Xavier March is an investigator working for the Kriminalpolizei ("Kripo"), as he investigates the suspicious death of a high-ranking Nazi, Josef Bühler, in the Havel on the outskirts of Berlin. As March uncovers more details, he realises that he is caught up in a political scandal involving senior Nazi Party officials, who are apparently being systematically murdered under staged circumstances. As soon as the body is identified, the Gestapo claims jurisdiction and orders the Kripo to close its investigation.