Alexander Leko, ex-con turned dirty cop slash family man, has achieved the Swedish middle class dream: He’s able to raise his son, Simon, in a respectable neighborhood and still have enough left over to share the occasional line of coke with his beautiful, fun-loving wife, Kim. The reason for his financial wellbeing is simple: Bengt-Göran, the local crime boss known on the streets as BG, pays him off to facilitate deals and look the other way. This arrangement keeps Alex’s family safe and happy, and for that Alex is willing to risk both his badge and his liberty. But when a street meeting turns into a gunfight and he accidently kills Martin, his partner and best friend, the guilt pushes Alex to end his deal with BG.

BG refuses to let him out of their arrangement and threatens to spread the word that Alex is now a cop killer. True to his nature, Alex tries to shoot his way out of his Faustian bargain. His boss, Ragnhild, assigns Alex a new partner, Frida Kanto – with strict orders to monitor his behavior. Frida and Alex have a past that almost cost Alex his marriage; she’s a rules-obsessed police officer who, as her hard-nosed father puts it, prefers to snitch on other cops instead of doing what it takes to clean up the streets. Conflict, shall we say, ensues.

Alex hides his family to keep them safe. But Frida unwittingly leads BG’s men straight to them, and they kidnap his son, Simon. Alex completely derails and spends the night trying to beat information out of every gangster he knows, only stopping to fuel his rage with coke and speed. It isn’t until he chops BG’s main enforcer’s finger off that he gets the address where his son’s being held. But the kidnappers manage to get away, and the next morning Alex receives Simon’s finger in the mail. The sight of the severed digit finally convinces Frida she needs to help her partner, and together they manage to rescue Alex’s son.

It turns out Ragnhild is working under the table for the same European crime ring that BG has been dealing with all along. Knowing Alex is onto her, Ragnhild assigns Frida to lead the bust against BG, arranging for her to be killed in the ensuing action. Alex rushes to save Frida, and ends up ramming his car full-speed into Ragnhild’s vehicle to stop her. When he confronts her with the truth, Ragnhild remains unfazed: It’s his word against hers. He’s known to be a corrupt, violent and reckless ex-con, whereas her record is immaculate. In this moment, Alex realizes there’s only one way left for justice to be served: He shoots Ragnhild in the back.