Arvid Traneus, a ruthless business consultant for a major international company, returns home to Sweden after a lengthy assignment in Tokyo. Four days after Arvid's return, the maid discovers two dead bodies on the living room floor - a man and a woman. At first, police detective Fredrik Broman assumes the two bodies to be Arvid and his wife, but the male body is badly disfigured, and his identity is up for grabs. Set on the island of Gotland, this is a fabulous crime novel that explores the possible terrors lurking beneath small town life, where escaping one's past is impossible.