The novel is set in 1992, during the final years of apartheid in South Africa, as Chief Inspector Kurt Wallander investigates the murder of a housewife in the town of Ystad. The case appears to be a simple murder, with no apparent suspect, but it soon becomes clear that someone had been stalking the victim. The police quickly apprehend the suspect, discovering that what seems like a random killing is actually something much deeper and more mysterious, with deep roots in the history of events unfolding in South Africa.
