Decades ago, teenagers Olaf and Alice disappeared without a trace from the Dutch village Schouwendam. 25 years later a man turns up in town with no memory but a clear resemblance to Olaf. The residents are forced to confront the mysteries of the past while the fatalities are adding up.

The story of Dirty Lines starts in 1987's Amsterdam, at a time when Dutch society was changing rapidly. Psychology student Marly Salomon takes on a side job working for a brand new firm: Teledutch - a company started by two brothers, Frank and Ramon Stigter, who established Europe’s first erotic telephone lines. Frank and Ramon become rich overnight and Marly finds herself immersed in this wild and rapid transformation. The final years of the Cold War sparked a sense of hope and inspired a new generation to celebrate life to its fullest. Amsterdam became the center of that cultural revolution with a radically new form of music: house and a new love drug: XTC. The erotic phone lines offer the opportunity to experience anonymous sex in a new way, changing the morality of its consumers, but also very much the people creating it.