Hallgrim is still in hot pursuit of ex-KGB man Sergei Varsjinskij and Luka Ivanovitsj Budanov; a new face joins the team while the relationship between Marie and Hallgrim heats up.

The trail of murders, including the crown witness, shows Hallgrim that he is getting dangerously close to Sergei. Nervous, Hallgrim worries for Marie's safety and spends the night at her apartment. Searching for clues in Berit’s effects Ditte receives a tip to look for the one thing that doesn’t fit the normal pattern; a plastic card that contains a map leads the team to an industrial area in the harbour and some very dangerous goods.

In trying to find the truth about a batch of uranium that was seized by the Danish police, Hallgrim befriends a Chechen scientist in Oslo who has a sinister mission in life. 

Hallgrim and Marie attend a conference in Sweden where they locate the person behind the Lithuanian sex trade. A price is put on Hallgrim's head, and someone comes to collect.