S2.E22 ∙ The Chopper

Asko Mertanen is a waiter who is very interested in shooting. He gets fed up how the things are run in Finland, so he thinks that the best way to change them is to shoot the Finnish president.

Silesia in Poland, late 60s. Bodies of viciously murdered women are found in secluded locations at an alarmingly increasing rate, their deaths always preceded by heavy fog.

Wealthy and superstitious race-horse owner Joe Baldwin practices philanthropy because he believes his charity donations bring luck to his ponies. One object of his bounty is gold-digger Jean Jason, about whom he has no illusions, and in order to get rid of her he finances her European vacation, and with her, unknown to Baldwin, goes full-time gigolo/part time artist Paul Vinette. Before a big race Baldwin is at an orphanage near the track and expresses his wishes for rain on the following day as his horse, "Sarcasm", runs best on a muddy track. The orphans resent his wish as it is also to be the day of their annual big outing, as does the orphanage assistant, Betty McKay, who chides Baldwin for his selfish viewpoint. It does rain but "Sarcasm" loses anyway, and Baldwin decides it was because the orphans were pulling against him. He arranges a big party for the kids and he and Betty fall in love. When Jean returns from Europe, she demands $50,000 to fade out of the picture. He tells her he will bring her a check. Paul sees Jean packing her bags, accuses her of running out, and they quarrel. She gets a gun and orders him out of the apartment and they fight for the weapon. Paul is leaving the building as Baldwin enters. A few minutes later, the police receive a call from a man claiming to be Joe Baldwin who says he has just killed Jean Jason. Baldwin is arrested and convicted on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to death. He escapes the police and goes into hiding in the home of a taxicab driver, Frank Bent, he had once befriended. Baldwin, with the aid of Bent and Betty, start the process of proving his innocence and also finding the real killer.

A former police detective working as a curator becomes obsessed with a victim in one of the crime scene photos in his exhibition from the 1960s. Delving into the mystery, he must confront the truth about this dead woman and his own life.

Transferred to the Anti-Crime Brigade, a senior officer probes the deaths of two ex-colleagues and disappearance of another, exposing a bitter feud within the police force.

A feature film adaptation of the Maigret crime novel by Georges Simenon.