While attending a business conference in South Africa, Kurt Wallander is drawn into the case of a missing Swede. He finds himself on a physical and emotional journey that will lead him from the sleek exteriors of Cape Town, to the intense poverty and deprivation of rural Africa. When he comes face to face with lost hope, corruption, and betrayal, can he survive?

Meanwhile, Kurt is forced to come to terms with his doubts about his long career in law enforcement–through his new relationships with Grace Thembu, a cop and single mother, and Mabasha, a young man driven to a life of crime.