Two financially troubled men become accidental detectives before an impersonation job exposes them to an assassination plot.
Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
Unemployment And Opportunity
Two men lose financial stability through career and relationship problems. They respond by deciding to work as detectives and accept a wealthy industrialist's assignment.
Key Events
Makeup Job Disaster — A makeup artist fogs an announcer with hairspray and insults her, losing his job.
Location: Bayerischer Rundfunk
Music Career Frustration — A musician is dumped because he prioritizes music and has no money.
Location: Unspecified
Two Men Need Money — Both unemployed or financially troubled men decide they need a new source of income.
Location: Unspecified
Detective Partnership Begins — The two men decide to become detectives despite having no established detective experience.
Location: Unspecified
Industrialist Offers Assignment — A wealthy industrialist hires the pair to investigate his wife's fidelity.
Location: Unspecified
The Faithful Wife Case
The new detectives travel to Bad Spänzer to investigate the industrialist's wife. Because she appears faithful, they stage an approach using a Prussian disguise so photographs can be taken.
Key Events
Surveillance Mission Defined — Their task is to follow the industrialist's wife and photograph evidence of an affair.
Location: Unspecified
Journey To Bad Spänzer — The pair travel to Bad Spänzer, where the industrialist's wife is staying.
Location: Route to Bad Spänzer
Wife Appears Faithful — The surveillance reveals no cheating because the wife appears completely faithful.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Prussian Disguise Prepared — One detective disguises himself as a Prussian to approach the industrialist's wife.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Manufactured Romantic Advance — The disguised detective makes advances so his partner can take the requested photographs.
Location: Bad Spänzer
A Dangerous Double
The pair's improvised detective work changes direction when one man must wear a costume as well. His resemblance to an Arab sheikh leads to recruitment by the sheikh's secret service.
Key Events
Evidence Photographed — The staged encounter produces the photographs demanded by the assignment.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Unexpected Costume Change — The second detective must also adopt a costume when a new opportunity appears.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Sheikh Resemblance Discovered — His resemblance to an Arab sheikh makes him suitable for an impersonation.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Secret Service Recruitment — The sheikh's secret service hires the lookalike to act as the sheikh's double.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Double Assignment Accepted — The detective accepts the doubling assignment without knowing its full danger.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Assassination Threat Revealed — It becomes clear that assassins are determined to kill the sheikh.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Assassination Threat
The double assignment becomes dangerous when the detective learns that assassins intend to kill the sheikh. The disguise that created the opportunity now places him in direct danger.
Key Events
Assassination Threat Revealed — It becomes clear that assassins are determined to kill the sheikh.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Dangerous Impersonation Begins — The detective's impersonation places him directly inside the assassination danger.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Assassins Pursue Target — The assassination threat escalates as the attackers continue targeting the sheikh's identity.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Detectives Face New Stakes — The original surveillance job is overshadowed by the life-threatening double assignment.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Impersonation Crisis Continues — The plot culminates in the dangerous confusion surrounding the sheikh's double and the assassins.
Location: Bad Spänzer
Story Breakdown
Career And Relationship Losses — The protagonists begin in financial and personal difficulty after professional and romantic setbacks.
Makeup Job Disaster — A hairspray incident and an insult cause one man to lose his broadcasting job.
Music And Money Problems — The other man is dumped because of his musical priorities and financial hardship.
Detective Partnership Forms — Their shared need for money leads them to invent a new professional direction.
Need For Income — Both men require money after their separate setbacks.
New Detective Plan — They decide to work together as detectives.
Industrialist Surveillance Case — A wealthy client assigns them to investigate his wife's supposed infidelity.
Client's Assignment — The industrialist asks them to shadow his wife.
Photographic Evidence — They are expected to take photographs proving an affair.
Bad Spänzer Operation — The detectives travel to the wife's location and discover that the assignment is more difficult than expected.
Faithful Wife — The wife appears faithful, leaving the detectives without genuine evidence.
Prussian Disguise — One man adopts a Prussian disguise to create a photographic opportunity.
Staged Romantic Encounter — The pair manufacture an apparent romantic situation so the requested photographs can be obtained.
Disguised Approach — The disguised detective makes advances toward the industrialist's wife.
Camera Evidence — His partner photographs the staged encounter.
Sheikh Double Assignment — A resemblance to an Arab sheikh redirects the pair into a secret-service operation.
Costume Transformation — The second detective must also put on a costume.
Secret Service Hiring — The sheikh's secret service hires him to serve as a double.
Assassination Crisis — The impersonation becomes life-threatening when assassins target the sheikh.
Threat Revealed — The double learns that the sheikh is under an assassination threat.
Dangerous Impersonation — The disguise places the detective at the center of the attackers' intended target.
Tommy loses his job as a make-up artist at Bayerischer Rundfunk after fogging an announcer with hairspray and then insulting her; Mike is dumped by his girlfriend because, on the one hand, he only cares about his music and, on the other hand, he is financially stranded. So they both need money and decide to become detectives. On behalf of a rich industrialist, they are to shadow his wife and take photos of her cheating. So Mike and Tommy travel to Bad Spänzer, where the lady is staying. But she is as faithful as gold, so Mike, disguised as a Prussian, makes advances to her so that Tommy can take the required photos. But Tommy soon has to slip into a costume, too: Since Tommy looks deceptively similar to an Arab sheik, he is hired by the sheik's secret service to double him. What Tommy doesn't know: assassins want to kill the sheikh at all costs.
