After his training as a policeman, the young, shy Köppe is transferred to a northern German town. Unfortunately, in an area where fox and rabbit say goodnight, there is little for a lawman to do. So Köppe kills time with the search for mysterious cow murderers, flirting with two attractive women and befriending a likeable petty crook.

Set on the deserted North Sea island of Langeness, a lonely woman begins an affair with a stranger; only after he is identified as a political fugitive and deported does she begin to learn about his true identity and his past.

In Germany, an old man attacks another old man and is arrested. The attacker refuses to speak. A female lawyer is appointed to him. She discovers that the attacker has numbers tattooed on his arm and the attacked man was a German officer.

Riedau, an idyllic wine-producing village on the Hungarian frontier with Austria. Young Sandor is brought to the local police station by border guards during New Years' celebrations. Next morning he has disappeared without a trace. When Sandor is finally discovered by chance in the stations detention cell he has survived for 18 days, suffering a loss of memory.