Twelve-year-old Oscar is a shy boy accustomed to being alone. At school he is bullied, and, hating his tormentors, he comes up with some entertainment for himself - he retires into the forest, taking a knife with him, and takes out his anger on trees and rotten stumps, imagining that they are his persecutors. But one day his classmate is found in the forest with his throat cut, and the circumstances of the crime are extremely suspicious - everyone is sure that it is a ritual murder. Shortly before this, Oscar has new neighbors - a father and daughter, who have settled in the next entrance. And although at first the girl is not at all inclined to communicate, soon Oskar and Eli become best friends. And yet there is something strange about her: she tolerates the cold too easily, jumps too well, and most importantly, she only goes out into the yard when night falls. Eli’s relationship with her father is no less suspicious – and is he even her father? Who is she and what does she have to do with the series of ritual murders that have rocked the entire city? Over time, Oscar receives answers to all these questions, although, perhaps, he would prefer to remain ignorant. The novel served as the basis for the famous film of the same name directed by Tomas Alfredson; the picture collected many European prizes, including the Golden Méliès and the Nordic Film Prize (with the wording “For the successful transformation of a vampire film into a truly original, touching and surprisingly human story about friendship and loneliness”), and was later directed by Matt Reeves. directed an American remake.