Inspector Rocco Schiavone hates everything about the mountain resort of Aosta -- the cold, the mountains, the far-offness and above all the snow; unfortunately for him, that's exactly where his first case takes him.

Rocco searches for a motive for the murder of a man who was run over by the snow cat; Rocco's old Roman pal Sebastiano tips him off about a marijuana transport.

While everything points towards the two young burglars Helmi and Fabio, Rocco can't bring himself to believe they would turn into murderers just for a few pieces of Ester Baudo's jewelry.

Rocco finds himself with two additional cases, on top of his private troubles with his lover Nora; one is the case of Ludovico Venier, a man who fell to his death while mountaineering with his partners.