Finland in the 1850's take the first steps towards independence. The Finnish-language authors introduce themselves.
Mike is getting out of prison after serving four years for a bank robbery. Bona is arranging the party of all parties for him: a Christmas party.
It is glasnost in the USSR. Reima August is the last communist. A lonely outcast that does not agree with the new world around him.
The 21st-century tale centers on taciturn detective Lipton Cockton as he looks into a series of murders involving exploding victims.