Absolute bestseller in Japan. The book sold 1,500,000 copies. Best Japanese detective novel of 2003. Based on the novel, the best film of 2005 according to the Japanese Film Academy was made. The killer confessed. All the evidence is there. But the investigation is just beginning... Scandal?.. Shame?.. Catastrophe?.. No, it’s even worse. A Japanese police inspector committed murder - he strangled his wife, and at her own request. At the same time, he himself did not commit suicide in order to save his honor, but turned himself in and confessed. This is impossible to imagine in the Land of the Rising Sun. Therefore, the police, the prosecutor’s office, and the court are striving to close this toxic case as soon as possible and somehow save face. In the end, everything is clear - the criminal confessed, there is more than enough evidence... But there is one important “but”. Two whole days passed between the murder and his confession, which the criminal flatly refuses to talk about. At the same time, it turned out that he, leaving his wife’s body, was leaving somewhere. Where and why? What was happening at this time? What is the killer hiding? Six people are trying to answer these questions: an investigator, a prosecutor, a lawyer, a journalist, a judge and a prison guard... “Yokoyama is a real master.” — The New York Times Book Review “Yokoyama’s prose is crystal clear; the plot... is absolutely believable and convincing.” — Bookpage “Yokoyama possesses that elusive trait that distinguishes a first-rate novelist: the ability to immediately grab the reader’s attention and never let it go.” — The Washington Post