After a police operation fails bitterly, Carl Mørck is referred to the newly founded section Q. His mission is clearly stated: he is no longer allowed to investigate of his own accord but must rather quietly and swiftly close old, as yet unsolved cases. It is a matter of days before his stubborn-mindedness leads him and his Assistant Assad on the trail of Merete Lynggaard. Years before, the famous politician had disappeared mysteriously on a ferry. The case had been shelved as a presumed suicide. But Carl and Assad find clues that cast doubts on the issue. In spite of their instructions, they decide to investigate - and begin to understand that evil sometimes merely waits for the right moment before it violently and terribly enters into a life...