Helle Anker, from Denmark, is found murdered without heart and with a carmine smile over her face in a construction site in Malmö, Sweden. Anker was lesbian and the pioneer of Denmark's gender-neutral preschool. Saga is assigned to the case together with a Copenhagen police officer Hanne Thomsen (Kirsten Olesen) who is hostile to Saga due to her role in the incarceration of Martin Rohde. Various characters popping out, mentally disordered Helle's son, former soldier in Afghanistan, haunted by some personal ghosts, Lise Friis Andersen, active Dannish vlogger, Lars Andersen Dannish businessman and others. As the investigation progresses, Hanne gets badly wounded and Saga is then assigned a new Danish partner Henrik Saboe (Thure Lindhardt), an insomniac with secrets of his own.

Saga gets a new Danish colleague, Henrik Sabroe, and together they continue to investigate Helle Anker's murder.

The police receive a video demanding a ransom in exchange for Hans' release. They manage to locate him, but when they are about to free him, they find that his kidnapper has been shot and Hans has been abducted again.

Hans is still in a coma. Saga makes a mistake in a dramatic hostage situation, but they manage to arrest a suspect who is taken in for questioning.

Lillian discovers a wound in Hans' mouth, which turns out to be a branding mark. The other two victims are examined again and they also have the same kind of branding mark. The perpetrator is probably branding his victims, but for what?

Saga and Henrik see a connection between the victims and some artwork hanging in a museum. All of the artwork is owned by Freddie Holst, a well-known and successful Danish business man.

An older couple is found murdered in a spectacular fashion in their house outside Ystad. They have a connection to a piece of art and they both have branding marks in their mouths, just like the previous victims.

The hunt for the killer intensifies, and Saga and Henrik are certain of his identity. But when they are about to bring him in, he has disappeared.

Saga has been forced to take a leave of absence from the investigation and her old colleague Rasmus Larsson takes her place.

The hunt for the perpetrator and Freddie's newborn baby continues. Freddie gets an SMS from the kidnapper with a picture of the baby and a meeting place.