Hamburg, Germany, 1944, during World War II. A serial killer terrorizes the city. When it seems clear that the local police are unable to catch him, forces as dark and terrible as the criminal himself become involved in the case.
The count Egge is barely a visitor in his Alpine family castle Hubertus, being preoccupied with hunting. He's furious when his young adult sons miss an annual municipal hunting concession auction, being both in love with local commoner girls, deemed undesirable although their mother was an actress herself, as is their sister's lover, painter Forbeck. So comital heir Tassilo marries in secret, spare heir Willy courts 'discretely'. Then tragedy strikes, with further consequences for the whole comital family.
WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.
Heinrich Zentler is a successful man, both on football and in his legal career.
As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman finds a mystic entrance and is met by Death, who tells her three separate stories set in exotic locales, all involving circumstances similar to hers.