Grumpy widower Walter lives alone with his dog in Regensburg and spends his time writing restaurant reviews on the internet. But when he meets his old childhood sweetheart, art professor Alice, whom he had unsuccessfully proposed to 40 years earlier, his life changes radically once again.

In the distant future, in a monastery on the lonely Neptune moon of Athos, a mysterious crime unfolds. An artificial intelligence responsible for life support comes under suspicion of murder. An inquisitor specializing in artificial intelligence is sent to solve this mysterious case.

War photographer W. Eugene Smith travels back to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities.