**The book that became a CULT NOVEL in its original language. Read in more than 16 countries, finally available in English.**

In the 1990s, Rudolph Goering shot his wife, then his twelve-year-old son, Nicholas—before hanging himself in their home, leaving no explanation behind. Against all odds, Nicholas survived.

Twenty-five years later, Nicholas Goering is a brilliant but misanthropic forensic pathologist in the infamous German city of Heimstadt. When his father's body is discovered—perfectly preserved, hanging exactly as it was on the day of his death—Nicholas is forced to confront the most baffling case of his career.

As the mystery deepens, it triggers a wave of murders and unearths shady practices that threaten to shatter not only the impeccable reputation of a hospital but that of the entire city itself.

An unscrupulous femme fatale psychiatrist, a volatile detective, a gifted but outcast child, and a mayor driven by Schopenhauer's principles will find themselves entangled in a race against time to stop the unraveling madness—before it consumes them all.