Leon Müller is a young writer with haphephobia living in New York in 1950. Originally from Germany, he fled from the Nazis in 1943, leaving behind him his dead family. Shy and reclusive, Leon has very little contact with the world outside of his small two-room apartment. That is, until he meets Tabitha Steele, a young woman who lives near him. For the first time since leaving Germany, Leon begins to open up. At the same time, news begins to spread of a serial killer who targets German immigrants. Known to the public by the name of the Switchblade Killer, the man stalks his victims before killing them by slitting their throats. Leon begins to feel as if he is being watched. Could it be that he may lose his life in his quest to live?