'oDeath, death, death . . . o Ellen whispered, her fingers starting to frantically twist. But it was already too late. The tap was wide open.' On a cold and rainy Friday in May eight-year-old Joy disappears without a trace from the Royal Tennis Hall in Stockholm. TV4, whose offices are a stone's throw away, wants to be first with the news - if nothing else, make the news - and the headstrong crime reporter Ellen Tamm is assigned to cover the case. Ellen becomes as if possessed by the search for Joy, which as time passes feels increasingly hopeless. Frustrated by corrupt police, the divorced parents' peculiar behaviour, threats from Internet trolls and her colleagues' gibes, she tries to control her emotions and handle the situation professionally. But the case is far too reminiscent of a similar incident, one much closer to her, and she is drawn into a tangle of family secrets, lies and betrayals that forces her to confront her own past.