Laid-back German police inspector Robert Anders has the job of solving crimes on Gotland, but he's a man out of his element: living on an island, and afraid of the sea. It's a phobia he'll have to conquer if he's to delve beneath the pleasant surface of the medieval town of Visby. Behind the facade of its brightly colored houses lurk criminals of all stripes: con men, extortionists, kidnappers and serial killers. They move among the residents and the summertime tourists who vacation in cottages that line the beaches. Robert's investigative team includes his loyal deputy Karin Jacobsson, the charming, capable Thomas Wittberg, and Ewa, a sardonic pathologist. Together, they discover that seemingly innocuous local characters conceal secrets; everyone has something they're hiding and nothing is as it appears on the surface.