After his training as a policeman, the young, shy Köppe is transferred to a northern German town. Unfortunately, in an area where fox and rabbit say goodnight, there is little for a lawman to do. So Köppe kills time with the search for mysterious cow murderers, flirting with two attractive women and befriending a likeable petty crook.
In Germany, an old man attacks another old man and is arrested. The attacker refuses to speak. A female lawyer is appointed to him. She discovers that the attacker has numbers tattooed on his arm and the attacked man was a German officer.
Set on the deserted North Sea island of Langeness, a lonely woman begins an affair with a stranger; only after he is identified as a political fugitive and deported does she begin to learn about his true identity and his past.
