‘Ekback once again proves that she is in the very front rank of Scandinavian crime writers.’ Independent

Stockholm 1856.

Geologist Magnus has been sent by the Minister to survey the distant Lapland region around Blackasen Mountain. It is the perfect cover for another mission: Magnus must investigate why one of the nomadic Sami people, native to the region, has apparently slaughtered in cold blood a priest, a law officer and a settler in their rectory.

But the Minister has more than a professional tie to Magnus, and at the last moment, he adds another responsibility. Disgusted by the wayward behaviour of his daughter Lovisa - Magnus’s sister-in law - the Minister demands that Magnus take her with him on his arduous journey.

Together the two must venture out of the sophisticated city, up the coast and across country, to the rough-hewn religion and politics of the settler communities, the mystical, pre-Christian ways of the people who have always lived on this land, and the strange, compelling light of the midnight sun.

For Lovisa and Magnus, nothing can ever be the same again.