Berner police sergeant Studer celebrates his daughter's wedding at the inn of an old friend. When a murder occurs outside the restaurant late at night, he takes charge of the investigation. Strong debut performance by Hans Heinz Moser in the role of Glauser's brooding investigator Studer.

Constable Studer of the Bern cantonal police is stubborn and gnarled. Because of his nature, he has few friends. He has this in common with the murder victim: James Farny was known by everyone as "The Chinese". The man had traveled the world and now he has been found shot dead in the village cemetery: was it murder or did he kill himself? He had the gun in his hand. Studer doesn't believe it was suicide...

A dead man is discovered in the machine room of the Randlingen sanatorium and nursing home. The man is Dr. Ulrich Borstli, the director of the institution. Constable Studer from the cantonal police takes over the investigation and soon realizes: it was no accident! The hospital director must have been beaten to death with a sandbag around midnight. The search for the perpetrator and motive proves difficult. The patient Pieterlein comes under suspicion because he has been on the run since the crime. However, Studer doesn't really believe in this solution and examines the friendly façade of the psychiatrist Borstli. He soon realizes that the solution must lie in the treatment methods of the nurses and doctors...