St. Pauli, Hamburg's red-light district. Home to Kranzow's strip club “Blaue Banane,” the most exciting venue in this already hot neighborhood. That's where Lajana (Sonja Kirchberger) dances. The seductive beauty is by far the “best horse in the stable” of shop owner Kranzow (Hilmar Thate). Also always on site: Sugar, Kranzow's loyal bodyguard (Heinz Hoenig), the prostitute Mizzi (Maja Maranow), and the transsexual Karin (Florian Martens) with her big mouth. One man wants to take over this bar: Graf (Hans Korte), the “venerable” fish wholesaler with excellent connections to St. Pauli's underworld. But a far more powerful figure now holds all the strings. And even Rudi's son Robert (Oliver Hasenfratz), who is studying in Munich and rushes to Hamburg to help, can do nothing against him. Whether they like it or not, Graf and Kranzow must join forces to survive the hurricane of violence that is about to hit them. With his fearless, colorful characters, director Dieter Wedel (“Der große Bellheim,” “Der Schattenmann”) succeeds in creating a captivating portrayal of Hamburg's underworld. The story tells in gripping images of betrayal and conspiracy, sex and murder, of hardened yet lovable characters caught in a whirlpool of corruption. At the time, the series was considered one of the most expensive productions in German television history, costing 23 million marks. This is hardly surprising, given that Dieter Wedel, who was considered not only the “wunderkind of German TV entertainment” but also a choleric despot on set, had Herbertstraße and several other St. Pauli locations recreated in the Bavaria film studios in Munich. But even the imitation did nothing to dampen the hype surrounding Hamburg's red-light district that the successful series had triggered. Note: As part of the #MeToo movement, allegations of rape were made against director Dieter Wedel in 2021. In 1996, Wedel allegedly raped the young actress Jany Tempel in a luxury hotel, which Wedel always denied. The allegations of sexual harassment against the director by three actresses had already become unmistakable in 2018. The rape case was never legally resolved, as Wedel died in Hamburg at the age of 82 after a long illness before the trial could take place. Rudi Kranzow has made a name for himself in the red-light district of St. Pauli, and his “Blaue Banane” is one of the most exciting strip joints on this hot strip. When Kranzow is unable to pay his gambling debts, fish wholesaler Graf, who controls the scene from the background, reaches out for the “Blue Banana”.