The motive is unclear, but the message isn't: the neighbor of police psychologist Richard Brock has been gruesomely murdered, and shortly thereafter Brock begins receiving compromising photos in the mail: photos of Brock making love to Paula, his colleague's wife. The man who is blackmailing Brock – and is possibly the murderer – is the bizarre Dr. Pliem, who demands not a million euros, but a few hours of therapy with Brock. What looks like a cry for help turns into a duel of two sharp intellects played on a minefield of clever traps. But when Paula is run down by a car and nearly killed, Pliem seems genuinely concerned, his signals difficult to decipher. Hoping to find the key to Pliem's psychosis, Brock turns to Pliem's mother, an elderly, nondescript woman. By the time he realizes just how far she will go to protect her son, the trap snaps shut on Brock.

Part 4 of the crime series with Anatomy of Evil, Anatomy of Revenge, Anatomy of Fear, Anatomy of Shame and Anatomy of Surrender.