Philippines 2014: Two German vacationers have disappeared off the coast of the Philippines. For the crisis team in the Foreign Office, there are some indications of a hostage situation. Karla Lorenz is sent as a special representative to search for the disappeared on site. Ironically, the diplomat who triggered international differences during her last foreign assignment in Bahrain. This time, too, things can get tricky: If the Philippine government starts a violent liberation, there is a risk that the civil war that has just ended will flare up again. For Karla, the job in Manila not only means a chance of probation, but also a return. She has already participated in the rescue of hostages in the Philippines with her current supervisor Thomas Eick. But not only that plays a role in the current mission: Karla had a passionate affair with the Philippine government official Jejomar Maceda, who has since become Minister of Defense. But already at the first meeting she senses that Jejomar will not be of any help this time. Karla and the young embassy employee Nikolaus Tanz investigate on their own. The two pay little heed to the interests of the German Ambassador Eisenbarg and the obviously well-connected businessman Jörg Welke. Thanks to her good contacts in Manila, Karla finds out what her supervisor Eick was not allowed to tell her: the two disappeared are involved in illegal arms deliveries from Germany. That's exactly what you don't want to publicize unnecessarily in Berlin. The fact that the Philippine government apparently wants to capitalize on the case - without considering the lives of the abductees - creates additional pressure. A bloodbath can only be prevented if Karla forestalls military action and frees the two Germans peacefully. To do this, the diplomat not only has to refuse official instructions, but also puts her own life at risk.
—ARD Das Erste