Lawyer Caspar Leinen (Elyas M'Barek) is confronted with a spectacular case when appointed by the court as a defense counsel: 70-year-old German-Italian Fabrizio Collini (Franco Nero) has killed the respected industrial magnate Hans Meyer (Manfred Zapatka) in his hotel suite, seemingly without motive. For Caspar, there is much more at stake than his first big case as a defense lawyer: the victim is the grandfather of his childhood sweetheart Johanna (Alexandra Maria Lara) and was a surrogate father to him in his youth. In addition, Caspar has an adversary in his former criminal law professor and legendary defense lawyer Richard Mattinger (Heiner Lauterbach), who has been appointed the joint plaintiff representative. The case quickly becomes a high-profile event, as Collini refuses to divulge his reason for killing Meyer. And as Caspar dives deeper and deeper into the case, he not only is confronted with the troubled past of the family he thought he knew so well, but he also uncovers one of the biggest judicial scandals in German history.

Based on the international bestseller by Ferdinand von Schirach, The Collini Case is a taut courtroom drama where the sins of the past must be laid bare before they can be forgiven, and the collective guilt of those responsible provides the framework for retribution.