Maria Altmann, an octogenarian Jewish refugee, takes on the Austrian government to recover a world famous painting of her aunt plundered by the Nazis during World War II, she believes rightfully belongs to her family. She did so not just to regain what was rightfully hers, but also to obtain some measure of justice for the death, destruction, and massive art theft perpetrated by the Nazis.

The criminal psychologist Richard Brock teaches at the University of Vienna. He used to work as a psychologist until his wife took her own life and he lost his license on suspicion of incorrect treatment. In the meantime he has developed a reputation as a particularly good interrogation specialist and is therefore called in by the police in special cases.