Soon the first snow will come. A young boy wakes to find his mother missing. Outside, he sees her favourite scarf - wrapped around the neck of a snowman.

And then he will appear again. Detective Harry Hole soon discovers that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years.

And when the snow is gone. When a second woman disappears, Harry's worst suspicion is confirmed: a serial killer is operating on his home turf.