A series of sinister crimes disturbs a sleepy town in northern Denmark, testing a grieving woman's limits, in this literary psychological thriller.
 
Eva Hegner is doing her best to hold it together. She recently gave birth to a stillborn daughter, and shortly after that, her once athletic husband became inexplicably paralyzed from the neck down. The past twelve days have been filled with visits to the hospital and the cemetery and with taking care of her husband's every need. And then the police show up . . .
 
A grave has been vandalized, the corpse missing. This is only the first in a string of disturbing, violent crimes, and they're all linked by mysterious Chinese symbols left at the scenes. The investigation offers Eva an escape from her daily sorrows while simultaneously plunging her into a world of secrets and lies. Uncovering the truth may seem like the best way for Eva to restore peace to her community, but it could also be her undoing.