In the chilly winter on the Skåne coast, a farmer is startled awake and heads to the neighboring farm, only to be confronted with a horrifying scene. His neighbor, John Lövgren, is found on the floor with a shattered face, while John’s wife, Mary, sits in a chair with a noose around her neck, her nightgown stained with blood. Before succumbing to her injuries in the hospital, she manages to utter a single word that quickly spreads through the media: “Foreign.” Inspector Kurt Wallander of the Ystad police takes charge of the investigation and soon begins receiving anonymous phone threats. When a fire breaks out at the local refugee camp and a Somali refugee is murdered, Wallander realizes the threats are serious. He understands that he is now in a race against time and facing a merciless adversary—a faceless killer.