The three friends Ertan, Kemal and Mehdi live in Kiel. They are foreigners, "Kanaks", as they proudly call themselves. For them, this term is an expression of their attitude to life. The trio keeps their heads above water with small-time crooks, but over time they are drawn deeper and deeper into a maelstrom of violence and crime. On a whim, Erkan acts as the protector of two prostitutes and makes enemies of two unscrupulous pimps. After a failed robbery, Ertan ends up in prison for a short time and Kemal is deported to Turkey. However, the two proud "Kanaks" don't let this get them down, on the contrary: together, the friends now want to build a drug air bridge between Istanbul and Germany. But the dream of quick money ends in death and grief for Kemal and Ertan.

"Why doesn't anyone tell me it's about a woman?" Now Novak is starting to feel uneasy! The young detective and three colleagues are on the payroll of a Hamburg demimonde. Now Novak and Brenner are supposed to look the other way when bringing in a key witness so that the killer Kosmo can strike. But instead of looking away, Novak falls for it. The "witness" is the pretty Kim-Lan. Novak's hesitation leads to a shootout. Brenner and Kosmo die, the witness flees. Only now does Brenner's widow Emma find out how deep her husband's team is in the swamp...