Commissioner Bartošek is visited by Dr. Goldberg, who reports the disappearance of his friend, the famous actor Benda. From the flimsy evidence, it appears that Benda left his apartment one night without taking anything with him and was taken away by car. He had not gone out for the entire week before, had not washed, had not shaved, and had drunk until he was debauched. The police search has reached a dead end. The actor Lebduška reveals to Goldberg that Benda had an affair with the actress Gréta, the wife of a prominent businessman, Bartošek's classmate Korbel. Goldberg eventually manages to exhume an unknown vagrant, whose body was found shortly after Benda's disappearance...