Introduction, ©2009 ; This translation originally published in a slightly different form in hardcover in the U.S. by Pantheon Books,1972, and by Vintage Books, 1980. -- T.p. verso.

"Seventh novel in the Martin Beck mystery series," together known as "The story of crime." "The gruesome murder of a police captain in his hospital room reveals the unsavory history of a man who spent forty years practicing a horrible blend of strongarm police work and sheer brutality. Martin Beck and his colleagues feverishly comb Stockholm for the murderer, a demented and deadly rifleman, who has plans for even more chaos. As the tension builds and a feeling of imminent danger grips Bec, his investigation unearths evidence of police corruption."

Translated from the Swedish.