Twenty-eight-year-old Mads Hammer has got a new job with Finanspartner, an Oslo firm of stockbrokers. The firm is owned and managed by three partners. Unfortunately, the market has been in the doldrums for the last year and the trio are desperately in need of a deal that will reap rich rewards for their principal investor and so restore their own fortunes. To this end they concoct a scheme involving a fraudulent share transaction.
Mads Hammer discovers that two of his predecessors have left the firm under rather peculiar circumstances. He finds himself embroiled in a web of swindles, tax havens and murder. His dream of a successful new career and hefty bonuses turns into a nightmare.