The much-anticipated return of Henning Mankells brilliant brooding detective Kurt WallanderOn a winter day in Hkan von Enke a retired high-ranking naval officer vanishes during his daily walk in a forest near Stockholm The investigation into his disappearance falls under the jurisdiction of the Stockholm police It has nothing to do with Wallanderofficially But von Enke is his daughters future father-in-law And so with his inimitable disregard for normal procedure Wallander is soon interfering in matters that are not his responsibility making promises he wont keep telling lies when it suits himand getting results But the results hint at elaborate Cold War espionage activities that seem inextricably confounding even to Wallander who in any case is troubled in more personal ways as well Negligent of his health hes become convinced that having turned sixty he is on the threshold of senility Desperate to live up to the hope that a new granddaughter represents he is continually haunted by his past And looking toward the future with profound uncertainty he will have no choice but to come face-to-face with his most intractable adversary himselfFrom the Hardcover edition.
