A broken apple tree will not bloom again. So thought the captain of the investigative squad, Christian Tyler, a thirty-seven-year-old widow without children. Left without a family, she abandoned all her hobbies, immersing herself in work, which turned out to be much more routine than expected. But Christiane slowly begins to awaken as serial killings sweep her town. Until she understands that crimes, like the roots of a tree, are intertwined with her past... Editor's comment: Defeating absolute evil without entering its territory, defending the law without violating its regulations - all these are the rosy dreams of novice detectives. And when the investigation goes so far that it becomes part of the detective’s fate, even dreams of justice disappear. But the internal moral law remains. But is it enough to remain human?