Major Adolf Kottan investigates murder cases for the Austrian police security office in Vienna. Kottan is sometimes dull, sometimes overexcited and sometimes clumsy, but always harsh to his dim-witted assistant Alfred Schrammel. Schrammel is much older than Kottan, but Kottan uses the familiar form of address with him, but in return he lets himself be addressed formally. The one-legged Paul Schremser is the head of the department, but Kottan also abuses him as an assistant, although he is much nicer to him than to Schrammel. In their free time, the three make music together. The former head of the department, Heribert Pilch, is now the police chief and is always concerned about the police's reputation.