Journalist Mikael Blomkvist, convicted for slander, is hired by industrialist Henrik Vanger to solve the 40 year old disappearance of his niece Harriet, but Mikael soon finds out he's getting help in the case, from hacker Lisbeth Salander.

As Mikael and Lisbeth join forces to solve the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, it may turn out to be much more deadlier than that, as they try to find out what connection Harriet had with five brutally murdered young women.