The events take place in Stockholm, Sweden in 1793. King Gustav is assassinated. The country's coffers are empty. After years of foreign wars, the kingdom is ruled by an elite that only cares about its own interests, leaving the citizens to suffer. Mikkel Cardell, and the case is taken over by Detective Cecil Weneh, who is ill with tuberculosis and whose days are numbered. Cecil unites with Cardell, and they become involved in a cruel world full of street children, thieves, hired killers and brothel owners, and the crime reveals a city ravaged by corruption under its deceptive appearance.