Vienna under the Nazis. A string of murders throws the city into a state of anxiety. Anton Beer, a young doctor who has made a study of forensic psychology, is asked by the retired Professor Speckstein to investigate the slaughter of his dog, which may or may not be related to the murders. It is an unwelcome request: Speckstein’s job is to spy on the building’s residents for the Party, and Doctor Beer has his own reasons for keeping his private life hidden from public scrutiny. Beer’s life becomes further complicated when in a neighbour’s apartment he discovers a paralyzed young woman, deathly ill from a mysterious ailment, and smuggles her into his home to nurse her in secret.