In the idyllic small town of Kymlinge in Sweden, the Hermansson family meet for a birthday party. The next morning, the black sheep of the family, known as "Jizz-Walter" to the media, is nowhere to be seen. Shortly afterwards, Henrik, his nephew, also disappears without a trace. For inspector Gunnar Barbarotti, the Swedish inspector with Italian roots, the case comes as a Godsend, as it saves him from attending a gruelling family gathering at his former wife's house. Barbarotti, a man of pleasure in his mid-forties, has had a running bet with God concerning his very existence for years and lovingly looks after his daughter, Sara, even when she turns up with a French lover. Barbarotti is assisted by his colleague, Eva Backman, the "clever owl", during his investigations, although she had initially applied for leave in order to save her marriage. All of the leads on the case end down blind alleys, leaving Barbarotti close to desperation. Yet he still has the odd brownie point for God, as at least his love life gets a fresh shot in the arm: he falls in love with Marianne, an attractive midwife. Several months later, Walter's corpse is found, but Henrik is still missing. When Henrik's younger brother gets a decisive tip-off, Barbarotti finds himself in a life or death struggle.