An investigative journalist is found beaten to death in his home, where the fingerprints of a notorious criminal debt collector are also found. The murdered journalist has been threatened by right wing extremists, but it is the victim’s work with a book about “society’s dark side” that captures the Beck group’s interest. When the case takes an unexpected and terrible turn, there is suddenly much more at stake than finding the journalist’s killer. Martin Beck and his colleagues have never had to protect the balance of their professional and private lives with the same tenacity as they do now.

The body of a young woman is found in a Stockholm hotel room. It appears that she has been strangled after a night partying with two young men, but the room was paid for using the credit card of a mugging victim whose alibi doesn't add up. Martin and Gunvald investigate under the supervision of their new boss Klas Freden.

When a well-known crime boss is murdered by a sniper in front of his family, Beck and his team are challenged to discover which one of his many enemies could be responsible for the crime.

The bodies of two buried men are found and despite persistent attempts, they cannot be identified. When another man is murdered they discover new evidence that soon leads them to an Islamist terrorist cell.