In June 2019, 43-year-old Michael Kahnwald commits suicide. His mother Ines hides his suicide letter before anyone else notices it.
On 4 November, after nearly two months of treatment at a psychiatric facility, Michael's teenage son Jonas returns to school.
Reunites with his best friend Bartosz Tiedemann, who is now dating Jonas's love interest, Martha. He loves.
Erik Obendorf, the high school's main supplier of marijuana, has been missing for two weeks. This news shook everyone's mind.
Police officer Ulrich Nielsen – the father of Martha and her brothers, teenager Magnus and pre-teen Mikkel – has been assigned the investigation, which struggles to uncover any clues.
Ulrich is cheating on his wife, high school principal Katharina, with Jonas's mother Hannah. But Ulrich is unaware of the person name.
While searching for Erik's stash of drugs in a cave not far from the town's soon-to-be-closed-down nuclear power plant.
Jonas, Bartosz, the three Nielsen children, and Franziska Doppler are frightened by strange sounds and their flickering flashlights, and Mikkel disappears as they flee the cave.
The next day, the body of a young boy is discovered, but it is not Mikkel. By knowing this Ulrich is little relief.
At an unknown location, a hooded figure straps Erik to a chair, while clamping a mechanism around his head.