A severed head, impaled on a stake, placed in the middle of the town square. No clues. No leads. And just hours later, another body. Inspector William Wisting is investigating the most grotesque case of his career. As media pressure mounts to find the sadistic killer, he soon finds what could be the key to solving the murder. But with another death looming, Wisting faces a criminal network well beyond anything he's dealt with before. To find justice, he must put himself in danger beyond his darkest nightmares, and from which there can be no escape.