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.

When the war breaks out, Annika lives with her parents in Värmland, close to the border to Norway. Her cousin Harald is a dealer in the black market but has to escape from the police to Norway. Annika moves to Stockholm and gets a job as a waitress. She meets the happy-go-lucky Berit and together they have a wonderful time. She also meets a young man, Bengt, whom she marries. But almost immediately she discovers that her husband is different from the man who was courting her. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.

There were stories of a nearly 15 foot long fish-like creature prowling in the shallows near Smeviken. Some claimed to nearly have caught the beast but there is not evidence of anyone succeeding. Now in 2020 it's time for a new attempt to capture the legendary beast.