Following a police raid at an illegal poker club where Anton Brekke is caught participating, he’s demoted from Kripos to the uniformed police force in Fredrikstad. Shortly after, Anton and his partner, Magnus Torp, are the first officers to arrive at the scene of a brutal murder. The crime makes it clear that a serial killer is on the loose.

San Francisco, 1961. Seventeen-year-old Daniel “Danny” Larsen, of Norwegian descent, arrives at the federal prison Alcatraz. He has been sentenced to life without parole for armed robbery and attempted murder of a police officer.

Thirty-three years later, a Norwegian couple visits the now-closed prison. There, they meet an elderly American named William, who tells them the story of the Norwegian inmate he served time with many years before.

What is the connection between the murders in Norway and the fifty-year-old story of Danny?

Anton Brekke is ordered to stay away from the case, but he’s far from willing to comply. Instead, he finds himself drawn deeper into the investigation.

This is Jan-Erik Fjell’s third novel featuring Anton Brekke.