In Beijing, a monk collapses in his chamber, dead.
A fiery mark--a tattoo? a burn?--spreads across his back and down his spine. In Mumbai, a beloved economist dies suddenly. The same symbol appears. Similar deaths are reported around the world--the victims all humanitarians, all with the same death mark. In Venice, a rogue Italian policeman links the deaths, tracing the evidence. Who is killing good people around the world?
In Copenhagen, the Interpol alert lands on the desk of veteran detective Niels Bentzon: Find the "good people" of Denmark and warn them. But Bentzon is a man who is trained to see the worst in humanity, not the good.
Just as Bentzon is ready to give up, he meets Hannah Lund, a brilliant astrophysicist mourning the death of her son. With Hannah's help, Bentzon begins to piece together the puzzle of these far-flung deaths. A pattern emerges--a perfectly executed plan of murder. There have been thirty-four deaths--two more to come if the legend is true. According to the pattern, Bentzon and Hannah can predict the time and place of the final two murders. The deaths will occur in Venice and Copenhagen. And the time is now.