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.

Salzburg. A few weeks before Christmas. Franz, in his late forties, secretly dreams of a career as a rock guitarist, but in real life he ekes out an unsuccessful existence as a music teacher. In addition, his marriage to Linn is in deep crisis and the pubescent daughter Julie hardly speaks to her parents.

Under mysterious circumstances, the restorer Lukas Albrecht drowns in the Canale dei Marani in Venice. While the easy-going Commissario Santo sees no criminal offense, the victim's widow resents the details. Anna, who is traveling from Vienna with her eleven-year-old son, doesn't believe it was an accident: her husband didn't have any alcohol in his blood, he knew the lagoon and could swim

Matthias is a master of pretense, from cultured boyfriend to perfect son or marital coach. He makes a career of being someone else. The real challenge begins when he has to be himself.