For over a year, Kurt Wallander has been on leave from the police-force. After killing a man, [see the events of The White Lioness], he is riven with self-doubt and is on the verge of quitting the police-force when an intriguing new case arouses his curiosity and lifts his depression. A friendly but concerned lawyer comes to Kurt for help: Sten Torstensson's father has died in a car accident, but he believes that it is anything but. He claims his father would never have gone driving in the fog, and certainly not at night.

However, two weeks later Sten is also found dead. He's been shot. Kurt returns to take over the case, which will soon throw up leads that cast the entire investigation into a new light.