While attending a concert, Alexander Haller meets the director of the Vienna seminary, Wimmer. The priest asks the special investigator from the Criminal Investigation Department to inquire about a student who has been missing for days. Haller's call to Inspector Janda provides certainty: the wanted man has been murdered! The first clue leads to the Brohnsteins' aristocratic palace.

First barns burn, then an old house burns. A fire brigade goes around. A corpse burned beyond recognition is found in the old house. Intention or amazing coincidence? Franzi Heilmayr and Martin Merana believe in coincidence - until the evidence suddenly points in a completely different direction. And deadly danger still emanates from there.