One night, in the early-morning embers of a great party in the basement apartment she shares with two friends, Liv is watching TV, high on weed, and sees a python on an Australian nature show. She becomes obsessed with the idea of buying a snake as a pet. Nero, the baby Burmese python, soon becomes the apartment's fourth roommate. Thirteen years later, Mariam Lind goes on a shopping trip with 11-year-old Iben, who angers her mother by asking for a magazine one too many times. Mariam storms off, leaving Iben in the shop, and goes on a long calming drive. When she returns home, her husband is relieved to see her but terrified that Iben isn't also there. Detective Roe Olsvik realizes that there is much more to this case and these characters than their outer appearances would suggest.