Berlin, 1920: Social misery, political struggles, uncertainty.

In the midst of the postwar turmoil, philosophy professor Hendrik Lilienthal is called in to investigate the murder of Max Unger, an industrialist and war profiteer known for his brutal methods. His death will make more champagne corks pop than tears flow.

There are plenty of suspects: the victim's brothers, who are pursuing their own plans with the Unger Group. A working class family who made Max Unger's life a living hell. Freikorps and reactionary military circles planning a coup against the young republic. Or is there even a connection to the recent murders of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht?

Against his will, Hendrik allows himself to be drawn ever deeper into the investigation. He finds an ally in the physics student Diana Escher, the dead man's niece. Armed with the wit of philosophy and the laws of science, they undertake their own investigations, which lead them into the barbaric living conditions of Berlin's tenement blocks, into entrepreneurial intrigues and into the line of fire of the putschists.

Sutton publishing house, Erfurt 2006 / BoD, Norderstedt 2019. 196 pages, 9.99 Euro. ISBN : 978-3-7494-3477-0