GERMANY
THE STORY EVOLVES AROUND THEM:
Jan Nordmann
Jan Nordmann is the experienced Chief Inspector of the Murder squad at the Hamburg police. He is calm, not easily ruffled and has the typical northern German down-to-earth attitude. Jan is 48 years old, happily married, has no children and lives in a comfortable terraced house in the Eidelstedt district in the north-west of Hamburg. His job is very stressful and involves a lot of irregular working hours, but his wife insists on at least three weeks of peaceful holiday with her husband every summer. Jan leads his team with clear instructions and rarely steps out of his role.
Peter walther
Peter Walther is Jan Nordman's counterpart in the Bavarian police force. He is in his early 50s, has gone through a difficult divorce and has little contact with his adult children. Walther would like to move up in the police force so he can work fewer irregular hours. He enjoys the good things in life, like most people in Bavaria, and his extensive experience and sharp mind make him a valuable asset. Peter is one with his team, which consists mainly of young talented detectives.
Horst Liebherr
Horst Liebherr is the nearly 60-year-old, strict but fair chief of the Bavarian police force. He lives up to his name: Liebherr is a well-known brand of heavy construction machinery, and that is how Liebherr moves forward, even when investigations become difficult and politics takes over. His years of experience and powerful personality make his status within the Bavarian police and judiciary almost untouchable.
Reinhold Range
Reinhold Range is the head of the anti-terrorism unit of the federal police in Wiesbaden, an authority that is not always popular with the local police forces in Germany. Range is charming and friendly, but beneath that exterior lies a sharp mind and a politically astute investigator. He will not shy away from using his high position to get his way. Range once worked for the German army's intelligence service and was also stationed abroad.
Armin Hochstein
Armin Hochstein is 23 years old and the only son of a German father and an Austrian mother. Although his parents have very different personalities – his father is an ageing hippie and his mother a traditional housewife – Armin grew up very harmonically. He is studying medicine at the University of Munich, still lives at home with his parents and has a close group of friends, whom he also knows from his childhood as a talented footballer at Bayern Munich. Armin is in a stable relationship with Fatima Aydin.
Fatima Aydin
Fatima Aydin is the 22-year-old daughter of an extremely conservative Turkish father, who, as a hard-working immigrant, had a good job at BMW in Munich, and a deeply religious mother. However, Fatima has gone her own way and feels more German than Turkish, much to the dismay of her parents and her older brother Mohammed. Fatima is in a relationship with Armin, whom she met on a dating platform on the internet. She is studying marketing at the Munich University of Applied Sciences and hopes to find a job in the fashion industry later on.
Mohammed Aydin
Mohammed Aydin is 26 years old and the eldest son of a conservative Turkish family from Munich. Through friends, he came into contact with the world of underground rappers in Berlin, where he now lives and is trying to build up a life as an artist manager. Because this generates little income, he has become increasingly involved in criminal activities, also to finance his expensive lifestyle. He regularly does odd jobs for acquaintances in Hamburg's drug scene, which earns him a lot of money and, above all, status among his friends.
Friedrich von hobarth
Friedrich von Hobarth is a descendant of an old German noble family that lost most of its possessions over the centuries. However, von Hobarth grew up with old and traditional German values and norms. He has a doctorate in engineering, is very disciplined, works hard and does not give up easily. This has made him a successful entrepreneur: he is the CEO of German Robotics, a large manufacturer of industrial robots, which came into Chinese hands a few years ago. Von Hobarth is married to Louise, an elegant lady with a keen sense of style, and they have one son, Rudolf, who, like Armin, is studying medicine in Munich.
Cem Kaya
Cem Kaya is the now only son of Gökhan Kaya, the godfather of the most powerful Turkish crime clan, which controls the drug trade via the port of Hamburg. Cem had an older brother who was killed in a clan war many years ago and is considered the crown prince of the Kaya clan. His father is suffering for a terminal illness but does not want this to be known. Cem is a tough man who does not shy away from murder and violence. He has always remained alone and leads an ascetic life.
Netherlands
HEnk de korte
Henk de Korte is a brilliant scientist, a Doctor of Mathematics in his early 40s. After completing his studies, he spent some time abroad, where he found inspiration for a unique software solution that would greatly improve the quality of marketing. This led to the founding of Kalusta, a company financed entirely by venture capital, which enjoyed great success in its early years. With his tall, thin build and serious face, Henk has an academic appearance. He is not a great communicator, but is a quick thinker. Henk is happily married to Evelien, an oncological surgeon, and lives in a beautiful canal house in the centre of Amsterdam.
Joe feinbaum
Joe Feinbaum is a young (38 years) wealthy investor of American origin, but has lived in the southern district of Amsterdam for many years, where he actively participates in the jet-set lifestyle. Joe is small in stature but has a big ego. He is single, cheerful, enjoys the finer things in life, but can make tough decisions when necessary for business. He has an extensive international network and is a master at connecting people, although his own interests often come first. Feinbaum leads the consortium of financiers that founded Kalusta.
Lithuania
Niklas Kazlauskas
Niklas Kazlauskas is the director and founder of Austaras, a successful IT service provider that develops software primarily for companies in Western Europe. Niklas is in his early 40s, married to Rima, who works in Lithuanian politics, and they have a 6-year-old daughter. As a child, he experienced Lithuania's breakaway from the Soviet Union. In addition to his work for Austaras, he is a board member of a historical Lithuanian association of marksmen, which confirms the pride in his national identity.
Roman Baysufinov
Roman Baysufinov is a software cryptography specialist (early 30s) from Kazakhstan who now works for Austaras in Lithuania. He fled Russia several years ago, where he worked on projects for the army and the secret services. He is an absolute ace in his field, but since fleeing Russia, he lives in constant fear of retaliation, partly because of his extensive knowledge of the Russian systems. Roman is a real nerd, lives alone, is awkward in his social interactions and is overjoyed that Austaras, where he mainly works on software security for their clients, has given him a chance.
USA
Mark Forrester
Mark Forrester is a young but exceptionally talented journalist who works for the relatively new network JustFacts.now, which aims to present only facts and exclude fake news as much as possible. Mark is resourceful and smart and has quickly made a career for himself in Washington DC, where JustFacts is based. In the maelstrom of events in world politics, Mark tries to understand the often hidden forces at work by making intelligent use of his network, without falling into the trap of wild speculation.
BELGIUM
PhilipPE DEbaere
Philippe Debaere is a Belgian national, who studied business administration in London and then enjoyed a rapid career as a management consultant. His quick thinking, insight into the economy and overwhelming charisma led him to choose a career in politics. In record time, he rose to become the leader of the new far-right party in the European Parliament, where he managed to unite the various forces into a single central "Europe For The Europeans" (EFTE) party. He is a gifted speaker with an attractive appearance and a sporty lifestyle. His track record is immaculate; he has never been involved in any scandal.
Russia
Alexander Lyssenko
Alexander Lyssenko is a colonel in the Russian secret service. In his more than twenty-year military career, he has often been entrusted with controversial missions: the capture of the Crimea, the invasion of eastern Ukraine, the liquidation of subversive elements and strictly secret missions in other parts of the world. Lyssenko is forced to lead a double life: his wife and daughter, who live comfortably in an expensive neighbourhood in Moscow, have no idea what he really does, even though his wife suspects that his identity as a trader in rare earth elements is false. Lyssenko lives an extremely disciplined life, is tough on the team he leads, and knows no mercy. But after many long years, doubt and fatigue begin to gnaw at him.
Nikolai Schelemow
Nikolai Schelemow is the ambitious head of the Russian secret service department that conducts clandestine operations. He is a young, extremely astute man who achieves his goals through subtle pressure, cunning and manipulation. Schelemow has no military background himself; he is a bureaucrat, but he has a perfect sense of what needs to be done to achieve the goals assigned to him. He will stop at nothing to achieve this. Schelemow is small and thin, has an academic appearance, but is vain and enjoys small luxuries.