Sigita is a single mother recently immigrated to Denmark from Lithuania. Undocumented and struggling with poverty, she cannot provide for her 3-year-old son effectively. Her son is soon kidnapped. She spends the rest of the book trying to find him again. This is complicated since she doesn't speak the native language.
Nina is a successful, loving wife and mother. She works for the Red Cross. Nina's the type of person who enjoys being caught up in being needed and finds her value in doing good deeds. When an old friend of hers mysteriously sends her a key to a train station locker in Copenhagen, she becomes concerned. In the locker she finds a suitcase containing a drugged and naked little boy (Sigita's son). Obviously Nina doesn't know what to do. She takes him home and cleans him up, looking after his health like any good mom would do.
Nina's afraid to hand the boy over to the authorities because he has no paperwork and doesn't speak Danish. He may be an illegal immigrant. They may just turn him out on the street where he's liable to be kidnapped again. Also the Denmark police are notably corrupt, so she doesn't trust that they wouldn't just sell him on the blackmarket to be done with the problem. Confident that she will figure out what's best for him, Nina sets out on a journey across Denmark trying to discover who he is.
Right around this time Karin, the friend who gave her the locker key, is found murdered in her own home. Nina recognizes the immediate danger for herself and the boy. Whoever killed Karin must not be far behind them. Alone and frightened, Nina becomes aware that a strange man is following her. Turns out this man named Jucas and his girlfriend were hired to deliver the boy to some wealthy Dane in exchange for a handsome sum. The two were trying to get married but needed the money to make it happen. When Jucas runs into Nina and the kid, he's confused and angry. He chases her all over Denmark, becoming increasingly violent.
Karin works for a Danish businessman named Jan Marquat who is not known for his high moral character. When his flight is delayed one day, he asks Karin to cover for him. She's supposed to withdraw a large amount of money from the bank and pick up a suitcase from the local train station. Recognizing how sketchy that request is, Karin decides to run. She knows her boss must be mixed up in some really dangerous business.
In the end it is revealed that Jan was the intended recipient of the boy. His own son became sick and died tragically. Distraught over the loss of her son, Jan's wife starts to lose her mind. In an effort to pacify her Jan purchased Sigita's son from a child trafficker in order to somehow replace the boy he had lost. All the main players end up facing off in Jan's house where the truth finally comes out. Sigita walks away with her beloved son at last. Nina returns to her family and her humanitarian work. And Jucas and Barbara are sent on their way.
