Staying alive becomes a precarious task for Inspector Kurt Wallander as he plays both hunter and hunted in a terrifying game of money and power.Crestfallen, dejected and spiralling into an alcohol fuelled depression after killing a man in the line of duty, Wallander has made up his mind to quit the force for good.When an old acquaintance, a solicitor, seeks his help to investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding his fathers death, Wallander doesn't want to know. But when the solicitor also turns up dead, shot three times, Wallander realises that he was wrong not to listen. Against his better judgment, he returns to work to head what may now have become a double murder case. A rookie female detective has joined the force in his absence and he adopts the role of her mentor as they fight to unravel the mystery.An enigmatic business tycoon who hides behind an entourage of brusque secretaries and tight security seems to be the link between the two deaths. But while Wallander is on the trail of the killer, someone is on the trail of Wallander, and closing in fast.