Arnaldur, a 16-year-old boy living a normal teenager's life in Reykjavik. One day, coming home from school, he finds his brother in the bathtub, dead. Despite clear signs of a suicide, Arnaldur is convinced that his brother's teacher is somehow responsible so he decides to take matters into his own hands and avenge his brother.

警方起先是调查一起谋杀案，但是却发现这和一个诈骗保险金的阴谋有关。凶手故布疑阵，多年来一直用另外一个人的身份活着，为了拿到巨额保险金，他不择手段，十分残忍。侦探霍特暗中调查，抽丝剥茧，终于让凶手无法得逞，但是最后霍特在与他纠缠搏斗的过程中英勇牺牲。而保险的受益人艾丝欧德惊奇地发现霍特探长曾默默帮助了她，使这笔保险生了效。

故事发生在警察卡塔和阿纳尔，他们负责调查冰岛第一个连环杀手的可怕谋杀案。这对不太可能的情侣慢慢地开始把这个案子和一个神秘的被遗弃的男孩的家联系起来，这个家名叫“瓦尔哈拉”。