Detective Chief Inspector Sörensen is anxious. More precisely, he suffers from a chronic anxiety disorder that makes life difficult for him. That is why he is moving from Hamburg to the Frisian village of Katenbüll, where he hopes for a more peaceful working life. But that is not how the cookie crumbles. The place is grey and bleak, it rains continuously, and the locals are not very enthusiastic in welcoming him. He also finds his new colleagues, Jenni Holstenbeck and Malte Schuster, somewhat suspect. And then things go from bad to worse. Mayor Hinrichs is found dead in his stables. Sörensen quickly realises that there is a lot of bad blood hidden behind the small town's tranquil facade and some well-founded reasons for anxiety...

Inspector Sörensen has finally retreated to the Frisian province, but he still has to contend with his own inner demons. Loneliness, insomnia and inner restlessness plague him, and although he does everything he can to stop taking his medication for the anxiety disorder, he remains trapped in his psychological torment. One dark night he almost runs over a young, disturbed woman on the country road. She is malnourished, wears only a nightgown and is blind. After she finally reveals her identity to Sörensen, a web of murder, religious madness and well-kept secrets begins to unfold before him. Sörensen is overwhelmed, not only by the shocking situation, but also by his own demons, which are gaining power over him again. The villagers reject him, and as fear takes hold of him again, he will soon realize that it won't just be a corpse.