Tough Finnish detective Jussi Vares gets hired by a friend at a newspaper to investigate a 15 year old mystery regarding the disappearance of 3 girls.

A young college student is found stabbed to death,and private detective Vares life takes an interesting turn when the girls family asks him to investigate the case.

In the heat of the night, a man from faraway plays the piano. In the local hillside prison, a bitter double-crossed convict stares at the city life over the roofs. A revenge is brewing in his mind; the blood-thirsty killer prepares his escape. Vares gets a client who needs private investigations. Despite the beautiful wife, Vares smells a rat... In the middle of the summer night, a shot rings out. One life comes to an end and Vares finds changes in his assignment. The clues lead him to first-hand encounters and second-hand bookshops; a visit to the gym reveals a drug-smuggling route from Stockholm... Vares finds himself entangled in hot money and cool silk. In the background slithers a cunning garter snake.

The body of a young woman whose heart has been ripped out of her chest is found in a remote are in Finland. The finder of the body, a dismissed pastor, hires private investigator Jussi Vares to investigate the crime. Vares uncovers a criminal ring involved in extortion, religious scams, exploitation of minors and stock market speculation.

Jussi Vares falls in love with a beautiful brunette - only to lose her in a horrible way. After dating Sole a few weeks, her body is found in a bird-watching tower. The investigations come to a standstill, until Vares promises to solve a mystery of messy denunciation letters. Before the letters reveal their secret, a lot of things happen. A gun-for-hire, Stahanov, gets an assignment. Sole's brother finds his wife in the arms of a wrong man and goes on a rampage, accompanied by a black cat. In the end the clues lead to a familiar person and more death in unavoidable

The tango king Harry Koivikko was found dead six years ago in a sleazebag motel, with a knife is his back. The biggest manhunt in the county faded away without results. Jussi Vares gets a phone call from a down-and-out journalist; the informant tells Vares he knows the murderer. Then the journalist disappears without a trace and Vares has to face the biggest challenge of his career. To add insult to the injury, an old acquaintance Veikko Hopea gets his first prison furlough…

During the Continuation War, mother Kaarina and son Erkki live at home in a small town while father has been sent to the front. One day the family's life is turned upside down when the father returns home as a deserter from the front .