A young man who disappeared during a Christmas party is the subject of a case for criminal inspector Antti Hautalehto at the police in Borgå. His boss's alcohol problem increases his work pressure.

Hautalehto investigates the strange drownings of a soccer team. An eyewitness flees for his life and Hautalehto's wife wants a divorce.

The police receive new information about drownings; the undertaker receives unexpected guests at the Christmas table and the Christmas dinner is fatally interrupted.

The Central Criminal Police is investigating the cases, and Hautalehto and the entire police force in Borgå are suspected of protecting their own.

The media and the top management of the police demand results; Hautalehto secretly follows a different line of investigation; Hautalehto's budding love suffers from work obligations.