It is a cold, dark, windy night in Oslo and Igi Heitmann pores over the debris in her dead father's office, trying to piece together the last days of his life as a failed private eye. She discovers a curious butterfly medallion in his desk - which in turn leads to the discovery of a young woman in a snow-drift, two bullets in her head and a gun in her hand. Igi's father and the young woman died within hours of each other - is the same person responsible for both their deaths?

Igi soon finds herself in the role of detective, on a trail that leads to the city's underworld of corruption, sadism and child abuse. Caught amongst the shards of a dozen shattered lives, she must tread carefully if she is to reconstruct the violent and tragic truth, and not be killed in the process.