Teenage troublemakers, Zipp and Andreas unwittingly commit murder when they accidentally kill a baby in the course of a petty crime. Unaware, the pair move onto their next crime. At first, there is no reason for Inspector Sejer to see a connection between the infant's death and the later disappearance of the town troublemaker. With Zipp too frightened to come forward, the police must wait for the evidence to present itself before they can begin to comprehend the unsettling nature of the case on their hands.

First published in English by:,Great Britain : Harvill Press, 2004.