探长Sarah Lund（Sofie Gr?b?l 饰）即将辞去工作带着儿子随男友去瑞典开始新的生活。然而临行前，她却被迫与新来的继任探长Jan Meyer（S?ren Malling饰）一起接手一件棘手的案件：少女Nanna Birk Larsen谋杀案。此时哥本哈根市长竞选正处激烈状态，年轻有为的候选人Troels Hartmann（Lars Mikkelsen饰）胜算颇大。然而他的竞选团队却与这场少女谋杀案有着千丝万缕的联系。随着调查的深入，Sarah的个人生活也被案件改变，但真相却迟迟没有付出水面……
A young girl's brutal murder launches an extended police investigation just when Detective Sarah Lund is supposed to leave for a new life in Sweden, and she can't leave the case behind. The girl's parents and friends struggle to cope with their loss. Troels Hartmann is campaigning to be mayor of Copenhagen, but struggles when links are revealed between City Hall and the murder. Over a 20-day time-span, suspect upon suspect is sought out as violence and political pressures cast their shadows over the hunt for the killer. Two more seasons follow, about a series of killings of soldiers and the abduction of an industrial magnate's daughter.
