Fredo Schulz, former detective chief superintendent in Berlin, is a good cop but a bit rough around the edges; a widower and ex-alcoholic with extensive insider knowledge and excellent contacts. His last case, one that involved the disappearance of two little girls, ended in failure. Suspended for trying to forcibly extract a confession from a suspect, he fled to the North Sea and into a constant state of drunkenness. Nonetheless, he is repeatedly drawn into volatile and troubling cases.
