After attending a concert by Russian cellist Irina Konsalevska Wallander saves her life when she is the victim of a car bomb. She recovers in hospital where another attempt is made to kill her. Wallander finds out she is to give evidence against hit-man Yuri Rina,who shot dead her boyfriend Mischa and that the Russian Mafia are out to silence her. Mischa smuggled drugs in her cello case unbeknown to her but forensics reveal an unexpected link between victim and killer,giving the reason for the murder as personal. Irina is moved to a houseboat where she proves her worth in a gun battle between the police and her pursuers.