It should have been an open and shut case: two drunks, who have met for a bite to eat and considerably more to drink, fall into an argument about one of the many pointless matters that make up their pathetic shared history. Then one of them ends their evening by savagely beating the other to death. It's a routine and yet strangely puzzling scenario to Detective Superintendent Evert Bäckström, whose legendary poor temper has not been improved by strict orders from his doctor to lead a healthier life. His gut feeling proves him right: within days, his team have another murder to contend with and have uncovered links to a high profile van heist in which two people died. The nation needs a hero. Who better to save the day than Bäckström, misanthropic, devoid of morals, Hawaii shirt-clad, and, latterly, and alarmingly, armed? Once again an eye-popping combination of laziness, luck and an unbelievable sense of timing may yet rescue him from the perils of his fifteen minutes of fame.