Israeli policeman Michael Ohayon must once again solve a murder that has taken place within a complex, closed society: the kibbutz. Told repeatedly that "one who hasn't lived on a kibbutz can't possibly understand life there," Ohayon becomes increasingly determined to penetrate the spirit of this world.

The body of a young Yemeni woman is discovered in the attic of a Bethlehem Road house, in a Jerusalem neighborhood famous for its impenetrability to outsiders. The victim, once a beauty, is no longer lovely -- her face has been brutally smashed. More than the usual horror greets Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon in the closed and inscrutable Baka, for an old love and an unfinished romance await him there as well. But much more is concealed beneath...

On a cold winter's day, a pre-school teacher is shot to death at the Jewish Congregation in Stockholm. Just hours later, two Jewish boys go missing on their way to tennis practice. Fredrika Bergman and Alex Recht hunt for a killer that seems as merciless as he is effective.