In a Reykjavik flat, a young man lies dead in a pool of blood. With Detective Erlendur away in a remote part of Iceland, Detective Elinborg, who is already struggling to juggle family life and the relentless demands of her job, is assigned the case. Her investigation into the murdered man's past soon uncovers a squalid tale of double lives, drug dealers, and the unsolved disappearance of a young girl.