Raphael has everything to please. He is charming, handsome, intelligent ... and he knows how to make the dead talk like nobody. The most talented forensic pathologist of his generation, he fascinates as much as he exasperates. Irreverent and teasing, he crunches life without losing a crumb, often in defiance of norms and conventions. A major challenge for Police Commander Hélène Bach, a busy mother and recently arrived at La Criminelle, who will have to collaborate with this extraordinary personality. Together, they will face the most complex murders by dragging us into the meanders of the realm of death.
After a horrific car accident, Balthazar determines that a woman found at the scene actually died several hours earlier, her corpse deposited in one of the car trunks.
After receiving a threat from Lise's killer, Balthazar worries his new girlfriend, Maya, is in danger. Bach is called to investigate a body found in a pond, but the case turns personal when she realizes the victim is someone close to her.
Balthazar examines a dismembered corpse found in the river, but when the body parts don't match up, he realizes there's another victim. As Bach investigates the crime, Balthazar debates whether to tell her that Lise's killer may have committed six other murders.
When Lise's killer sends Balthazar a video of her being murdered, Balthazar relies on drugs to numb the pain and starts to lose his grip on reality. Meanwhile, a disturbed man wearing a woman's bloody scalp walks into the police station offering no explanation for his state.
Balthazar and Bach finally track down a suspect in Lise's murder case, only to find he has been dead for 10 years and the real killer has been using the identity of the deceased. Balthazar has little time to process his emotions before being pulled into a triple homicide investigation of teenagers butchered during a camping trip.
Reeling from the realization that the person who murdered his wife, Lise, could still be at large, Balthazar investigates the gruesome killing of a man.
Balthazar examines a frozen corpse found in a truck. The police have few leads until he finds a piece of evidence that connects the victim to a seemingly unrelated case.
While at the movies, Balthazar is called upon to help an apparent stabbing victim and soon finds that her fiancé has also been attacked.
When a woman is found hanged from a bridge, it appears to be straightforward suicide, but Balthazar finds it strange that another victim died the same way days earlier. The fact that both victims had used a blind-dating site before their deaths points to a serial killer targeting women.
When called to a crime scene, unconventional forensic pathologist Raphael Balthazar immediately clashes with the new, no-nonsense chief inspector, Helene Bach. But they must work together to solve the double homicide of a public prosecutor and his wife, who were gunned down in their home, leaving behind their traumatized young daughter.
A husband and wife suffer a knife attack that bears the marks of a serial killer who is supposedly in prison. When Balthazar links the crime to a remote town in the mountains, he and Bach travel to the snow-covered village to determine whether the murderer is a copycat or still at large.
After hearing an emergency call from a distressed teenager, Bach arrives at a peculiar crime scene: an empty car with smashed windows and a trunk full of snakes. With little else to go on, Balthazar and Bach race to find the missing girl.
Balthazar examines a dead woman dressed as Snow White and determines she was shot, then buried alive. A USB drive hidden in her wounds reveals portraits of seven missing people, including the victim's son.
A dead dog covered in human blood leads police on a frantic hunt for a missing infant. Suspicion immediately falls on the child's nanny, who is not who she says she is, but Balthazar connects the case to a prestigious music academy instead.
Balthazar analyzes a collection of bones discovered in an old abandoned building and finds three bodies dating back to the Middle Ages and one who died a week ago, partially dissolved in acid. The victim's girlfriend, who reported him missing, lives with her parents in a creepy house said to be cursed.