When Bienzle drives through a village on the Alb on the way back from a conference early in the morning, he sees a light in a bakery. Bienzle gets the first fresh pretzels of the day from the master baker. Because he left his wallet behind, he turns back. However, his second visit to the bakery is less pleasant: he finds the baker bent over in his tub of dough – suffocated. Against his will, he is appointed chief investigator in the village.