In this gruesome case, the likeable village policeman, Franz Gasperlmaier, needs particularly strong nerves. The tranquil Aussee summer idyll is disturbed by a terrible discovery in Lake Toplitz. A diver pulls a sawed-off hock from the water. But whose? Luckily, Gasperlmaier's mother-in-law knows the Aussee people very well and already has an idea who's up. The mother-in-law is proven right. The murdered man was last seen at the Altaussee Ski Club's fish dinner. Gasperlmaier and his new wife, Doctor Jolante Roth, suspect the murderer is among the guests. Time is running out, because a second terrible murder follows.