This is a sad portrayal of a public school that has fallen to the depths of ugly bullying and disregard for the lost and depressed. A man whose daughter committed suicide at fourteen and whose wife is confined to a sanitarium has gone missing, leaving his toddler son behind. This doesn't wash because the man's sole focus in life had become the little boy. We are introduced to two young women. Tove, who has gotten herself mixed up in drugs and a sex trade, induced by an evil janitor at the school. And Sarah, a new girl, who has been bullied by her peers. She is very unhappy and always seems to be the one blamed for confrontations that she didn't start. The children at the school are portrayed as sour and unfriendly, mean spirited and somewhat dangerous. This is probably a little over the top, We also find out that Wallander is being tested for prostate cancer. This is affecting him in his work, although he tries to not let it. This story features some of the most despicable of characters.
