Frankfurt police inspector Fritz Dellwo (Jorg Schuttauf) has been training for months for the Frankfurt marathon. He is entering in company with a small group, one of whom is a veteran sports coach from the former East Germany, Henry Danquarnt (Karl Kranzkowski). On the eve of the race an underworld figure with sharp-shooting skills escapes from jail. This criminal had threatened to kill Dellwo. Dellwo's partner, inspector Charlotte Sanger (Andrea Kawatski), does not want him to participate in the marathon on account of this. He brushes off her worries. Early in the marathon, a participant is shot dead at long range. Video evidence shows that the victim was running directly behind Dellwo. A desperate search begins to locate Dellwo and pull him out of the race. The shot was fired from a church tower. Sanger decides to visit the cleaner of the church, Irene Ferber (Kirsten Block), who may have been an eye-witness, and finds from her partner that she is cleaning another church.