A man is beaten to death in the Middle East. In Stockholm, a young woman disappears on her way home from work. These two events will prove to be related. Since Martin Beck has quit, Steinar Hovland leads the search for the missing girl. But Martin is drawn into the case when he decides to help the national Security Police investigate a suspected terrorist. They soon realize that they are in a race against time to stop a catastrophe.

Becker runs a business in Tingsryd, Sweden, specialized in garden furniture. In fact he sells everything you can make a profit from, including black labour from the Baltic countries. Becker, who is driven by his obsession with money and consumption, has built a local empire with his lucrative business. Now his business is being threatened, both from the in- and the outside.