The story revolves around a group of teenage boys. When one of them suddenly gets a chance to make a pact with the devil things shift quickly in their lives.

Two traffic officers on a quiet morning shift try to stop a car for speeding. When the car finally pulls over, the driver gets out and shoots at them, killing one of the officers in cold blood. A national alert is issued and an extensive search for the ruthless killer begins, with the Beck group at the lead. Neither the officer’s shocked and wounded colleague nor any of the witnesses have seen anything helpful to the police. Finally, they find the car registration number using a surveillance camera. But, when they enter the car owner’s apartment, they find him shot to death. The first day of summer is a long one for the Beck group, as the killer has more victims on his list.

An unidentified body is found in the remains left after a fire in a trailer at a run-down caravan park. The owner of the trailer, a young drug-addicted woman, is missing, but is she really the victim? And what role has the so-called neighbourhood watch from the nearby community played? The case is difficult to solve, with everyone involved guarding their secrets, regardless of social class. Furthermore, police supervisor Klas Fredén decides to go over Martin Beck’s head and recruit charismatic, Norwegian homicide investigator, Steinar Hovland. The newly-structured Beck group faces the blight of a power struggle. And Martin struggles to find his way back to his old self.

Simon returns to the suburb where he grew up in after his graduation, to work as an teacher in his old school. He becomes aware of an event that involves some of his students in his class. This puts him in a difficult situation.

An investigative journalist is found beaten to death in his home, where the fingerprints of a notorious criminal debt collector are also found. The murdered journalist has been threatened by right wing extremists, but it is the victim’s work with a book about “society’s dark side” that captures the Beck group’s interest. When the case takes an unexpected and terrible turn, there is suddenly much more at stake than finding the journalist’s killer. Martin Beck and his colleagues have never had to protect the balance of their professional and private lives with the same tenacity as they do now.

When a well-known crime boss is murdered by a sniper in front of his family, Beck and his team are challenged to discover which one of his many enemies could be responsible for the crime.