When a gruesomely staged body is discovered propped up on a mountain pass in the Alps near the German-Austrian border, two detectives are dispatched to investigate. This is the first genuine test for German detective Ellie; her Austrian colleague Gedeon, on the other hand, appears to have lost interest in his work. They quickly discover other crime scenes with victims symbolically positioned, evocative of pagan rituals. It all appears to be part of a larger, nefarious strategy. Ellie is under increasing pressure to figure out the crazy killer's motivations so she can stop him. The hunt takes them deeper into the dark valleys and antiquated Alpine customs-and the killer's paranoid world.