Christian Tiddell's joy at the publication of his debut novel, "The Mermaid," was short-lived, turning his life into a nightmare. Between death threats he and his friends received from an anonymous source threatening to expose what they had tried to forget, and the death of his friend Magnus Schillner, his life was turned upside down, and the ghosts of his past began to haunt him. Erika Flack, Christian's friend and a crime writer who helped him edit his first novel, along with her husband, detective Patrick Hedström, tried to uncover the secret behind the threats Christian received for refusing to reveal what he knew. During her investigation, her friend's dark past was revealed, and the evidence led her to a web of secrets, intertwined relationships, family secrets, and a love affair involving three people. However, the victims' own silence regarding the evidence hindered the investigation. Was their silence driven by fear or guilt? What secret would they rather die to protect than see exposed?