A cold day in January 2006. The police make a horrible discovery in the Swedish town of Hudiksvall: In one night, 18 people have been brutally murdered in the small town. The police suspect a madman is behind the bestial act. But when judge Birgitta Roslin hears the news, she instantly knows that her grandparents August and Britta Andrén are among the victims. And even more: Almost everybody killed somehow relates to her. She realizes that the police are following a wrong track and starts to investigate on her own. Her search leads Brigitta to China where she finds out about the cruel scheming of the leading elite.

In 1942, Friedrich Weimer’s boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA) – high schools that produce Nazi elite. Over his father’s objections, Friedrich enrolls. During his year in seventh column,Friedrich encounters hazing, cruelty, death, and the Nazi code. His friendship with Albrecht, the ascetic son of the area’s governor, is central to this education.