Peter Purtschert

Verena, the mother superior at a German convent, tells the story of young nun Antonia. Born deaf and taken in by the convent at a young age, Antonia was raised to be a sister. At the age of 27, Antonia begins commuting to work at a men's shelter in town. There she meets handsome pickpocket Mikas, who is also deaf. Mikas courts Antonia and the two become lovers. But when Mikas is tragically killed by police, Antonia decides to take her fate into her own hands and travels to America where she will study to become an actor.

Turkish woman Aische Aydin is found beaten to death in her apartment in Basel. Her husband Ali is suspected, but remains silent and attempts suicide. Inspector Hunkeler cannot accept this. An amulet—depicting a couple in a boat—found at the crime scene catches his attention. Hunkeler has encountered such an amulet before, when he was investigating Roma clans in Alsace. Acquaintances of the Aydins confirm that the amulet belonged to neither Aische nor Ali. Shortly afterwards, Theo, the heroin-addicted ex-husband of a friend of Aische's, is found murdered. The police find a large quantity of heroin. The Aydins are now also linked to drug trafficking.