A summer Friday in Stockholm: Ewert Truut is nearly shot by a desperate teenage girl. When she is disarmed and taken to hospital, it turns out that someone cut off her tongue.
A few days later, one of Ewert's friends is brutally murdered and his reality is turned upside down, not least when it turns out that there is a connection between the girl and his friend. When Ewert starts unraveling the threads, he is drawn into a shadowy tangle of prostitution, human trafficking and child abduction. He is threatened with death and also feels pressure from senior police chiefs who want to close the lid on the investigation. What force is he fighting against? Who is trying to silence him? At the same time, his loved ones are affected by other crises and Ewert Truut is given reason to reconsider his prejudices and think about how much life is worth.