In Stockholm, on St. Lucy's feast day, a bandit daringly robs a crowded post office. Within a fortnight, two witnesses are dead. Two cops from vice squad, Johansson and Jarnebring, who were the first to the crime scene, pursue all leads and identify a suspect, an arrogant member of the elite secret police, a man assigned to guard the country's Minister of Justice. Just as the beat cops think they've tightened the noose around the suspect, loose ends appear, witnesses lose their certainty, alibis crop up, and even the cops doubt what they've seen. Who's protecting the suspect and why?
In 1920s Stockholm, young Roland lives with his socialist father, Jewish mother, and boxer brother. His mother sells condoms illegally, and from them Roland makes slingshots, which he sells. His rebellious ways have won him his schoolteacher's special attention; his teacher always makes sure he is punished. Roland also tries to make extra money by repairing bicycles; it's a successful business, but it eventually lands him in hot water.
