SPOILER: As a white stallion roams beneath reflections of waning moonlight across a field near Ystad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, foreshadowing a gloomy episode of gloom, despair and helplessness, as two hooded perpetrators carrying ropes enter the farmhouse of Maria Lovgren (Karin Bertling) and Johannes Lovgren (Rune Bergman) intent to steal large cash withdrawals, and subsequently committing homicide.
Ystad Police Officer Kurt Wallander (Kenneth Branagh) converses over dinner with his irresponsible adult daughter, Linda Wallander (Jeany Spark), and her Syrian medical intern suitor, Jamal (Arsher Ali), when Wallander receives notification to investigate the slaying. While Linda accuses her father of disapproving of her foreign-born intended, Kurt unsuccessfully reassures her otherwise.
At the farmhouse, Maria attempts to utter a response to Wallander's inquiry as to who has done this, with a faint and incoherent "farmer" or "foreigner," which Wallander reports to his investigatory team, which also consists of Chief of Police Lisa Holgersson (Sadie Shimmin) and Magnus Martinsson (Tom Hiddleston), as well as those who also investigate the scene of the homicides: Anne-Britt Hoglund (Sarah Smart), Nyberg (Richard McCabe) and Peters (Tom McCall), a nervous young officer.
By morning light, a disoriented Povel Wallander (David Warner) roams along a rural road, wearing his pajamas and a robe, and carrying his belongings and scrolls, before foreign migrant farm workers discover him and report his condition to authorities, which include Povel's son, Kurt Wallander. Upon examination, Jamal tells Kurt that Povel's condition may stabilize, but would eventually worsen over time, suggesting institutionalization, as Povel may likely experience additional outbursts, which he does soon afterward.
But Wallander has a homicide investigation to conduct, and must make the rounds to question any witnesses and/or suspects. At neighboring farms, Wallander speaks with Stefan Nystrom (Roger Watkins), who reports hearing nothing last night except for the white stallion's neighs, and Lars Herdin (Dave Hill) the brother of Maria Lovgren, who claims that Johannes Lovgren has invested a fortune and, instead of using the money to fix the farm, pays large amounts to his former mistress, the mother of their son.
Before Wallander is able to check Lovgren's financial situation at the bank, with Bank Manager (Josh Cole) describing Lovgren's situation with three bank accounts, and offering a surveillance tape, showing Johannes withdrawing a large amount of cash, someone inside the police department leaks information to the press that Maria told Wallander that foreigners perpetrated the murders, with Daniel Gylling (William Scott-Masson), a television news reporter, announcing that foreigners have murdered the farmers, thus initiating a series of attacks on foreign migrants, from their caravan camp to the fields.
Nyberg and Wallander drive to the docks to study sailors' knots and figure that the nooses found at the farmhouse could have been tied by foreigners, before Wallander returns to question Johannes brother-in-law question Lars about Johannes' money, mistress and child born sometime in the early 1960's although Lars says that he is unaware of their identities, which the Department continues to investigate, while Wallander receives a series of anonymous calls by someone threatening to avenge foreigners for the murders.
Hospital records lead Wallander to question local unmarried ladies delivering baby sons during the early 1960's, including Anita Johansson (Dearbhla Molloy), who denies being Johannes' mistress and says that Ruge Jenner is the father of Stephan, and Ellen Magnusson (June Watson), a gasoline station owner, who also denies being Johannes' mistress and Eric's father although her Eric died eight years ago in an industrial accident in Vancouver.
After another return to the scene of the crime, Wallander discovers find crowbar and brown sack used to withdraw the funds, along with an automobile part, identifying it as from a 1975 model, and then questions Rune Bergman (Michael Gould), who has reported his 1975 automobile missing. Wallander requests police surveillance on Bergman's property, before a migrant worker is gunned down in a field. When Migrant Worker (Dhaffer L'Abidine) describes two suspects whom he saw lurking around the caravan, Wallander trails Bergman, who visits a secret club to meet with Valfrid Strom (Fredrik Gunnarsson) -
But, after Wallander loses his footing on the metal roof, Strom exits the club with carrying a weapon and rope and trails Wallander with a pistol, leading to a gunfight, as Wallander summons back-up assistance, and leaving a fourth individual to be slain, and Wallander under suspension, but with the determination to find justice for the first two murders.
After discovering who leaked the information to the press, Wallander searches the summer fair, across from police headquarters, for suspects whom he deduces may have perpetrated the initial crimes, leading to a dangerous showdown scene on the carnival rides, after Wallander refuses to carry the pistol, which Lisa Holgersson decides to return unto him, and now Wallander must decide whether or not to remain on the force in an unresolved climax, which may well likely disappoint viewers, by introducing yet another senseless slaying. (Minus points for this.)
The cast is rounded out by Joanne Howarth as Hanna Lovgren, daughter of Maria and Johannes, Polly Hemingway as Gertrude, Rachael Chisholm as Britta-Lena Boden, Karen Gledhill as Nurse, Akbal Abbas-Waernbaum as Dead Migrant Worker's Wife, Chrissie Cotterill as Waitress, Ali Ajeel as Fairground Operator, Reza Dehban as Carousel Man, and Rolf Jarl as Policeman.
