On a beach in Gothenburg found parts of a dismembered man's body. The only thing that is going on, a tattoo on the torso. Irene Huss finds similar previous cases that will take her to Copenhagen, where she is forced to look for a friend's daughter who disappeared. Likfyndet will be the prelude to more nasty murders that lead Irene to Copenhagen's underworld.

The seemingly random murder of a jogger in woodland and the detonation of car bombs in central Ystad are but diversions to busy the police whilst a security van are robbed of 15 million kroner. Isabelle and Portus witness this and give chase but are attacked by the criminals and hospitalized. Given the security firm's meticulous contingency plan Wallander suspects a leak from the inside and aims for Micke Sterner, a compulsive gambler and the only staff member to know the encoded transit schedules. But some private sleuthing by over-worked Svartman, who has found the robbers' den, and Wallander's suspicions of an ex-cop turned security officer with connections to the firm provide the real break-through.