Emma Mayer, a world traveler who last lived in Marrakesh, arrives in Mannheim and introduces herself as a psychologist on the radio show "The Night Psychologist". Benno, the head of the service, tells her that they are only looking for a telephone operator with "expertise" to pre-filter the calls. Emma is against the senseless waste of time, but since she is already there, she takes the calls and decides in a rather idiosyncratic way what is relevant and to be taken seriously for the show and what is not. She does not fail to notice that the presenter, Elisabeth Gira, is an aging psychoanalyst with an alcohol problem who has long since passed the peak of her career. From one second to the next, the entertainment show becomes deadly serious when a call from an unknown person is put through to the show. He claims to have seven hostages in a gas station. Elisabeth Gira is so shocked by this call that she immediately runs away. Emma decides to take her place. She does even more: She drives to the scene with Benno. The police are at a loss: the hostage-taker makes no demands. What does he want? Who is he? Emma decides to go to the gas station to negotiate with the hostage-taker and save the lives of the hostages. After a short "feeling out", Emma suggests a game to the hostage-taker: he should ask Emma questions about his life and she promises him insights into herself. In return, he will release a hostage for every question she answers correctly. But what happens if she fails? Then he will shoot her, says the hostage-taker. Emma gets involved in this exchange of blows, while outside the MEK prepares to storm the gas station.