At a cemetery, an unidentified man is found murdered, his body propped up against a gravestone. Axel Steen, an investigator in Copenhagen's homicide department, is called to the scene. The investigation initially points towards the police force and links to the demolition of a nearby youth hostel. But Axel soon finds out that many people, both inside the police and out, have an unusual interest in the case - and in preventing it from being solved...