Greta goes on trial for her role in the assassination of Councilor Benda. As Gereon attempts to investigate the case further, Councilor Wendt attempts to bury it.
Fed up with Gereon's increasing frigidness, Helga considers alternative accommodations. Meanwhile, Moritz becomes disenchanted with his Catholic community service group and begins to fall in with the Hitler Youth.
The Betty Winter investigation discovers that the lighting technician on the production, "Peter Glaser", was hired under a false name, and is in reality a man named Felix Krempin. Gereon ambushes Krempin at his home; Krempin confesses to his role as a saboteur, but pleads his innocence regarding the murder; Krempin is then himself shot by someone dressed in a large black cloak while Gereon is prevented from pursuing.
Tropes:
- Black Cloak / Malevolent Masked Men: The conspicuous disguise worn by the killer.
- Call-Back: Tilly Brooks, the American extra on the film production and an important witness in Betty Winter's death, is one of the women who flirted with Gereon and Bruno at the Pepita Bar the night Gereon killed Saint Josef
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Evil Is Cool: Moritz is attracted to the Hitler Youth because they get to do much more fun activities than cleaning up leaves, such as archery, wilderness survival, and getting into fistfights. - Good Cop/Bad Cop: The Armenian and Weintraub pull a malicious version of this on Bellman, the film producer, with Weintraub stabbing him in the hand.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Wendt's liaison to the Nazi Party, Stennes, wears a brown leather jacket at all times.
- His Name Is...: Krempin seems about to name who hired him when he is shot dead.
- Impaled Palm: Weintraub impales Bellman's hand to the desk with a knife.
- Impossible Insurance: The Armenian's insurance policy won't cover Betty Winter's death if it was a murder, leaving him in dire financial straits.
- Off with His Head!: Capital punishment in 1920s Germany is still carried out by beheading with an axe, using a literal headsman. This was indeed the only method of execution in Berlin until 1938, when it was changed to the guillotine.
