After she returns to her hometown to learn that her friend, Alex, was found in an ice-cold bath with her wrists slashed, biographer Erica Falck researches her friend's past in hopes of writing a book and joins forces with Detective Patrik Hedstrom, who has his own suspicions about the case.

When a young girl's body is pulled out of the harbor in the small Swedish resort town of Fjallbacka, Det. Patrik Hedström becomes the lead investigator as he struggles with lazy and inept colleagues and an even remoter-than-usual boss. It's his grim task to discover who could be behind the murder of the child both he and his partner Erica knew well.

"Christian Thydell's dream has come true. His debut novel, The Mermaid, has been published to rave reviews. So why is he as distant and unhappy as ever? When crime writer Erica Falk, who helped Christian discover and develop his talents, learns he has been receiving anonymous threats, she investigates not just the messages but also the young author's mysterious past. Then, one of Christian's closet friends, Magnus, goes missing. Erica's husband, Detective...

When a four-year-old girl disappears in the woods just outside Fjallbacka, the community is horror-struck. Thirty years ago, a young girl went missing from the exact same spot, and was later discovered, murdered. Back then, two teenage girls were found guilty of the killing. Could it really be a coincidence that one of the girls - now a world-famous actress - has just returned to Fjallbacka? Detective Patrik Hedstrom starts investigating, with his...