Paul Lauwrence Bartoli is an examining magistrate in southern France. The judge, who appears slightly eccentric, is notorious among his colleagues as an unconventional bon vivant who only reluctantly follows the rules. Nevertheless, Bartoli always does everything possible to solve his cases with meticulous dedication. He is particularly interested in the psyche of the perpetrators, which is why he usually selects cases that he feels speak to personally and in which he can find out the motivation of the perpetrators.