A young boy wakes to find his mother missing. Their house is empty but outside in the garden he sees his mother's favourite scarf - wrapped around the neck of a snowman. As Harry Hole and his team begin their investigation they discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years.

A third woman is hanged from a diving board.

You have allowed this killing to go on.

The crime scenes offer no clues, the media is reaching fever pitch, and the police are running out of options.

It's time this was stopped.

There is only one man who can help them catch the killer.