A man is found murdered in his Reykjavik flat. There are no obvious cluesapart from a cryptic note left on the body and a photograph of a younggirl's grave. Detective Erlendur is forced to use all the forensicresources available to find any leads at all. Delving into the dead man'slife he discovers that forty years ago he was accused of an appallingcrime. Did his past come back to haunt him? Finally, Erlendur's searchleads him to Iceland's Genetic Research Centre in order to find thedisturbing answers to the mystery. This prizewinning internationalbestseller is the first in a new series of crime novels set in Iceland.