The past created a predator. Now it has come home.
Police detective Nelly Birkebæk has found her footing in Hedeborg, a small town on the Danish moorlands. She has become part of daily life at the local police department, and her teenage son is thriving in their new home.
However, the town is shaken when eighty-six-year-old Irene Grindsted is found murdered in her bedroom on a quiet residential street. Runes have been painted above her bed, and a large letter S has been written on a mirror. There are no signs of a break-in.
Irene Grindsted was once affiliated with the town's Viking Center and held strong opinions about Hedeborg's famous runestone. As Nelly and her colleagues begin to uncover the victim's past, an old story starts to resurface—one that Nelly's inquisitive neighbor, Ejnar Skjold, recognizes all too well.
The investigation takes Nelly from the neat facades of Hedeborg's residential streets to Málaga, Spain, and into a local close-knit community where few residents are willing to speak with the police.
As hidden connections emerge and long-buried secrets come to light, Nelly must uncover the truth behind Irene's murder before the past claims another victim.
