Verratene Freunde (2013)

Businessman Peter Staude has invited school principal Andreas Rogel, a longtime friend of his wife Christa, and Andreas’s wife Heike to dinner. Heike, who works as a doctor, and Peter have been having a secret affair for six months, and Christa suspects that her husband is cheating on her. She accuses Peter of this during dinner and goes to her room. Heike and Andreas feel awkward about the situation, and Andreas wants to find out why Christa behaved that way. Heike tells him that Peter, who is regarded as a major benefactor in the field of support for people with disabilities, actually financed the family villa with donations that were intended to build a support center. Andreas checks the documents and confirms that Christa’s accusations are true. He wants to confront Peter, but Heike tries to stop him. At an event celebrating Peter’s charitable work, Andreas gets a chance to speak with Peter, but Peter denies everything. He introduces Andreas to the attractive Simone and then leaves him standing there. Christa, meanwhile, soon decides to move out of the villa they share. Andreas receives an unexpected visit at school from journalist Peck, who was also at the event. Peck suspects Peter is not above board and believes he has misappropriated donations, which Andreas confirms. Shortly afterward, Peter receives an inquiry asking how much he paid his support association for the plot of land on which he soon afterward built his villa. He had acquired it below market value and immediately suspects that Andreas has given the journalist information. When an exposé about Peter appears in the newspaper shortly afterward, Heike leaves Andreas and tells him that she is having an affair with Peter. She moves in with Peter, who in turn wants to destroy Andreas. He arranges for a newspaper article to be published revealing that Heike left Andreas for Peter, making Andreas’s actions appear to be nothing but revenge. As a result, Andreas runs into serious problems at school: the article is posted throughout the building, and his colleagues now regard their principal with suspicion. He is also visited by Simone, whom he found attractive at the event and who has a son with a disability. Peter’s charitable work has given her son a future, and Simone makes it clear to Andreas how much she despises him. Andreas contacts Peck and complains that his identity has apparently been exposed. Peck reassures him: there are much bigger issues involving Peter than “just” the house built with donation money. Peter’s company is bankrupt, but it takes on major projects to collect grants. The projects, in turn, will never be carried out. Peck hints that Peter’s premises will soon be searched. Andreas warns Peter, mainly hoping to get him to hand over Simone’s files so that she won’t be drawn into the case. Shortly afterward, Peter’s business premises are searched, and he suffers a spell of weakness. In hospital, he is already planning an extravagant dinner with prominent figures from politics and business to restore his image. He pretends to Heike that nothing is really wrong, plans a holiday in the south, and gives her expensive jewelry. In the end, only Christa, Heike, Andreas, and Simone and her son Moritz show up for dinner. All the other guests have cancelled. During the meal, Peter brings out Simone’s files, which he had put aside after Andreas’s warning. Simone feels uncomfortable, while Heike reacts jealously. The tense situation is interrupted by the doorbell: the police arrest Peter. Only Moritz tries to stop the police car. Simone goes to look for Moritz. When she asks, Andreas accompanies her.