On a cruise ship to Stockholm, an American man assaults a passenger. When Marianna Hermansson of the Stockholm Police arrives, he has escaped. Little does Marianna know that the man is her boyfriend, John.

Mariana discovers that not only is John the assailant, he supposedly died ten years ago on Ohio's death row. When John tries to run, Mariana lures him back in.

John is cleared of the assault charges, but the Foreign Ministry decided to deport him. Convinced of his innocence, Mariana helps him break out of prison again.

With Mariana and John on the run, Ewert negotiates a deal for John to avoid extradition. Still, back in Ohio, Edward Finnigan has other ideas.

With John on death row, Mariana travels to Ohio to help prove his innocence. She clashes with Hanna, who wants to focus on putting political pressure on Finnigan.

Mariana pursues leads back in Sweden, and discovers who murdered Elisabeth. Just as Hanna reveals this to Finnigan, he completes her plan, sending himself to death row.