Tumba, Sweden. A triple homicideall the victims from the same familycaptivates Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the grisly murdersagainst the wishes of the national police. The killer is at large, and it appears the elder sister of the family escaped the carnage, it seems only a matter of time until she, too, is murdered. The only surviving witness is the boy whose family was killed before his eyes. He has suffered over one hundred knife wounds and lapsed into a state of shock. Hes in no condition to be questioned. Desperate for information, Linna sees one mode of recourse: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes. Its the sort of work that Bark had sworn he would never do againethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he finally gives in, a long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl.