A young boy has been found murdered, and the Beck group's investigation leads them to a narcotics network.

A candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize is brutally stabbed to death in central Stockholm following a meeting with two lawyers from the war tribunal in The Hague. One of the witnesses worked with Alex when she was stationed in the Middle East and they have an attraction to each other that makes Josef think she should stay out of the investigation. Meanwhile, Klas Fredén is pressuring the group to resolve the politically charged case before SÄPO takes over.

A jawbone is found in the middle of the forest. When the rest of the body is found, it turns out it has been recently moved and belongs to Viktor Eklund, who has been missing for five years. His mother, well-known author Cecilia Eklund, has just managed to put his disappearance behind her. Martin Beck was investigating the disappearance but Alex thinks the case is unusually thin and not worth Martin pursuing further, although he thinks differently.