En mindre fynsk by, hvor en lokal journalist findes myrdet. To politifolk fra Rigspolitiets rejsehold tilkaldes, og under deres opklaringsarbejde bringes mange intriger og forretningsmæssigt snavs blandt byens spidser for en dag.

A woman, Ilse Brehmer, finds the body of a dead man, a journalist. He has been murdered, and later when the body turns up in the harbor, the woman denies everything, even though witnesses has seen her nearby the crime scene. She simply can’t remember anything, but the detective on the case, Mørck, knows how to smell a lie and soon start to unravel this bloody mess.