Lisbeth Salander, outsider and apparent enemy of society, is charged with attempted murder. In addition, the state has determined that she is mentally unstable and should be locked away in an institution once again.Pulling the strings behind the state's prosecution is the inner circle of the Swedish security police. Only with Blomkvist's help can Salander avoid the fate they have decided for her and expose the secrets they are protecting.Lisbeth Salander has been abused by a system supposedly designed to protect. And yet she is the one person whose intransigence and limitless bloody-mindedness can provoke the disruption of the Swedish secret state.