Summer in East Berlin, 1961. Dr. Ella Wendt was reassigned from Senftenberg to the Charité, a move intended to secure better medical care. Across the border, a tide of doctors and nurses were deserting the German Democratic Republic for the…

News arrived from the maternity clinic: a newborn, afflicted with jaundice, had been admitted to the children’s ward. By the time the ambulance pulled up, the infant’s condition was grave. A direct blood transfusion was urgently required.

With a clandestine move, the provisional wall went up, cleaving Berlin in two and instantly placing the Charité within the zone of division.

The body of the first person killed at the Wall is adrift in Humboldt Harbor. Ella fears, with a chilling certainty, that it might be Curt. Prokop conducts an autopsy. The investigation proceeds under a veil of absolute secrecy.

Ingeborg Rapoport’s attempts to find common ground with Professor Kraatz remained fruitless. The stark reality of a neonatal sepsis case underscored the profound distance separating obstetrics and newborn medicine.

Ella is scheduled to represent Professor Prokop at a research conference in West Berlin, where she will present her most recent findings. For her to be permitted to leave the country, Dr. Nowack must provide a letter of recommendation.