Could it actually be pure coincidence for two people to disappear from the same family at the same address in the space of twenty-four hours? And for the one to have absolutely nothing to do with the other? It's December in the quiet Swedish town of Kymlinge, and the Hermansson family have gathered for a big birthday celebration. But beneath the guise of happy festivities, tensions are running high, and it's not long before the night takes a dark and unexpected turn . . . Before the weekend is over, two members of the Hermansson family are missing, and it's up to Inspector Barbarotti - a detective who spends as much of his time debating the existence of God as he does solving cases - to determine exactly what happened on that darkest day, and unravel a web of sinister family secrets in the process . . . 'A thrillingly complex case' Sunday Times _ 'Told with wry humour and compassion, Nesser has four more Barbarotti stories to come - cherish them all' _Daily Mail