Der Tod kennt verschwiegene Pfade

Village blacksmith Karl is investigating again. The new historical case from Ralf Lano's crime forge. During a smuggling tour in the hot summer of 1947, experienced coffee smuggler Leopold Schilz is murdered in the woods near Bitburg. The local mayor of the small village of Disselbach is temporarily arrested after being seen at the crime scene. The murder is the first case for Criminal Commissioner Peters as an officer in the new police force of Rhineland-Palatinate. He soon suspects that something bigger is at play. The organizer of the smuggling activities in Bitburg is the shady Thomas Schwarz. To uncover his dark dealings, Peters hires village blacksmith Karl Bermes, who is well-versed in the background of lucrative coffee smuggling. Together with police trainee Eddi Franken, Karl is infiltrated into the smuggling gang. The very first tour is under a bad omen, as Andrej, a supposed former Polish prisoner of war, is severely injured and fighting for his life. It turns out that Karl's mission carries many dangers. The murder investigation ultimately leads from Bitburg to the isolated farm of the Schilz family in the mountains near Waxweiler, which was completely destroyed during the Ardennes Offensive. Karl must realize that the roots of the case run much deeper than he thought.