Pagan Peak

- Season 1

(2019)

When a gruesomely staged body is found, propped up on a mountain pass in the Alps close to the German-Austrian border, two detectives are sent to investigate.

A German entrepreneur has been killed in Austria. His secret lover was found comatose on a ski piste late at night, drenched in blood.

Tipped off by the killer's horrific photofit, the investigators unearth the Krampus legend - a symbolic creature infamous for punishing the naughty and unworthy. This leads them to Sebastian Brunner, head of a rural sect, whose books on the end of civilisation seem to have inspired the killer. Through the cult leader, Ellie and Gedeon manage to contact the perpetrator via the internet. This achievement, however, can't stop the murder of a YouTube starlet on a lake near Salzburg.

In a joint effort with cultist Brunner, Ellie and Gedeon try to set a trap for the killer. For this plan to work, they have to overstep legal boundaries. Trying to gain the trust of the killer, they feign a copycat murder, hoping their target would be lured into reaching out to Brunner. Meanwhile, Ellie has started an affair with her superior, whereas Gedeon has been haunted by his shady past as a corrupt narcotics cop.

The demanding investigation has affected Ellie in a major way. The German policewoman and the Austrian cop bicker and fight constantly. While her positive life views get dulled and stunted, Gedeon's initial indifference changes into an obsession for cracking the case. After one lead brings them to yet another dead end, they have to start again from the top. They dive into case files of unsolved murders over the past years, hoping to find any trace of the serial killer.

A fierce detonation blows up a fashion outlet mall in Salzburg. Despite Ellie and Gedeon trying to evacuate the building in time, a child is fatally wounded in the explosion. The deadly assault riles up the general public, whereas politicians and the media demand fast results from the police. In Austria, Gedeon has to fight to stay on the case. In Germany, Ellie loses trust in her superiors more and more. After the Krampus Killer has leaked details of her affair with her boss to the press, her life collapses.

The international press conference on the bomb attack is interrupted when a man wearing a Krampus mask is shot during a gunfight with the police.

In the Austrian region Steiermark, a decayed female body is found in a buried wooden box. When the victim is identified as Malica, Gedeon senses the Krampus Killer has struck again. At first, nobody shares his suspicion. But his reinvigorated eagerness convinces Ellie to pick up an unofficial investigation on their own. They find out that the Macedonian victim, Malica, has been reported missing back home.