While chasing a suspect through the forest, Inspector Micha Oberländer is injured so severely that he falls into a coma. When his colleagues Mara Eisler and Thomas Komlatschek discover the body of a tourist close to where Oberländer was found, they are certain Oberländer must have been pursuing a hot lead in their current case involving the death of a local priest. Oberländer's last notes and the shared past of the two murder victims lead Eisler and Komlatschek to an abandoned orphanage for difficult children that was closed 20 years ago due to abuse allegations. A world of fear, oppression and loneliness is revealed. What tragic events took place here back then and how are they connected to the mysterious chess notations left on the walls of the abandoned building?

While Komlatschek and Eisler fear for Oberländer's survival, Oberländer investigates in the dreamlike shadow world of his coma. But the closer he gets to the identity of the perpetrator, the further he is drawn into the darkness. Will Oberländer be able to fight his way back to life? Can Eisler and Komlatschek identify the perpetrator in time without Oberländer's help and prevent another revenge killing?