Master detective Evert Backstrom is in peak form. He is still making tabloid headlines with his ability to solve murders quickly and efficiently - and arrogantly. But when his rival, celebrity lawyer Tomas Eriksson, is murdered, it proves difficult not to let emotions interfere in the investigation. The evidence points in multiple directions, and before long, more dead bodies are found. The motive connecting the murders seems to be an old music box from Russia, depicting the storybook character Pinocchio, worth 300 million kronor.