Max McLaughlin, a Detective with the New York Police Department, is sent to Berlin by the United States Department of State in 1946 to help German police superintendent Elsie Garten establish a new police department after World War II in the hopes of finding his brother, Moritz, a United States Army soldier who is thought to have died. The book also features prominently throughout the series.
The two lead characters, brothers Max and Moritz McLaughlin, are named after German literary characters Max and Moritz, from a 19th century illustrated children's book, Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks ( German: Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen). New York Police Department Detective Max McLaughlin gets assigned to post- World War II Berlin by the United States Department of State to help organize and establish a new police force and at the same time, looks for his brother, Moritz, a United States Army soldier who went missing at the end of the war, and helps Elsie Garten, a novice female German police superintendent, to fight crime in 1946 Germany.
The Defeated, also known as Shadowplay, is a 2020 television series.