An eccentric millionaire dies at a manor in Dalarna in Sweden, leaving behind three sons and a mistress. One of four parallel stories about parents and children. Four sides of Sweden. Four shades of brown.

The story will follow a medium who convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. When her true intentions come to light, however, her husband realizes the plan threatens to consume them both. The novel was previously adapted as a film in 1964 starring Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley.

When Oskar, a sensitive, bullied 12-year-old boy, meets his new neighbor, the mysterious and moody Eli, they strike up a friendship. Initially reserved with each other, Oskar and Eli slowly form a close bond, but it soon becomes apparent that she is no ordinary young girl.

Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose pink scarf is found wrapped around an ominous looking snowman.

In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet mole within his former colleagues at the heart of MI6.