In medieval Sweden a knight returns from war only to find a ravaged homeland. He meets up with a group of traveling players and eventually confronts the embodiment of death with whom he engages in a game of chess for his life. The knight and Death play as the cultural turmoil envelopes the people around them as they try, in different ways, to deal with the upheaval the plague has caused.

Patrik and Erica are expecting their first child when the body of a woman is found in a rock cleft -- with two more skeletons hidden underneath. A lobster net brings up the body of a child off the coast. At first she appears to be a victim of an accidental drowning, but the investigation soon points to murder. Patrik and Erica are making wedding plans when a deadly car crash occurs. The case is almost written off as a tragic accident, but a series...

Marie is an accomplished ballet dancer haunted by her tragic youthful affair with a shy, handsome student. Her memories of the rocky shores of Stockholm's outer archipelago mingle with scenes from her gloomy present, most of them set in the dark backstage environs of the theater where she works.