Arthur Romanowski

In the near future. Many things are like today, one thing isn't: The number of terror attacks has increased so rapidly that any gathering in public is prohibited. Any form of culture and most of human interaction is mediated by an electronic device. The psychologist Claire decides to break the isolation and plans a secret concert with her brother Aurel, a famous trumpet player who has performed concerts in front of virtual audiences only for years. Supported by the hackers Ada and Maximus, their plan seems to succeed. Things go well. Until something else starts to go deeply wrong.

All of a sudden, 16-year-old Martha vanishes. Her father Lothar, who for years has had no contact with her or his ex-wife, sets off unwilling to find her. He soon realises other young people are also vanishing from the city inexplicably. Lothar follows their trail across the country. He meets the occasional young person but the trail goes cold. In the next city he encounters militia groups and a reinforced police presence. Children are forbidden to be on the streets unless accompanied by adults. The world has changed...