Detective Harry Hole is assigned to a bank robbery case in Oslo where a lone robber executes a cashier after an appointed time limit expires. Meanwhile, after a drunken dinner with an old flame, Anna, Harry awakens with a severe hangover and no memory of the past twelve hours. The same morning, Anna is found shot dead in her apartment in an apparent suicide, making Harry a prime suspect in the murder investigation led by his adversary, Tom Waaler. Harry must secretly investigate both the bank robberies and Anna's death to clear his name, which leads him on a complex and harrowing trail involving themes of blood revenge and vendetta.
