A boy, Gusto, is lying on the floor of an Oslo apartment. He is bleeding and will soon die. He is trying to make sense of what has happened. In order to place his life and death in some kind of context he begins to tell his story. Former police detective Harry Hole returns to Oslo after 3 years abroad. He wants to investigate this death but the case has already be closed. It's the start of a solitary investigation of the most impossible case in Harry Hole's life.