The summer cottages are closed and peace is settling over the coast of Vestfold, Norway, but the autumn fog conceals evil deeds. In the novel Closed for Winter, William Wisting has a new case to solve during the off-season. Ove Bakkerud, newly separated and extremely disillusioned, is looking forward to a final quiet weekend at his summer home before closing for winter but, when the tourists leave, less welcome visitors arrive. Bakkerud's cottage is ransacked by burglars. Next door, he discovers the body of a man who has been beaten to death. Police Inspector William Wisting has witnessed grotesque murders before, but the desperation he sees in this latest murder is something new. Wisting's unease does not diminish when he discovers several more corpses on the deserted archipelago. Meanwhile, dead birds are dropping from the sky.