The novelfollows a sixty-five-year-old man on his birthday, who is throwing a party at his cottage in the countryside. Among the guests are his Daughter and her three friends, Lidman's friend from the NCA, Lidman's next door neighbor, and a mysterious stranger who everyone assumes is a plus-one of one of the guests. When eventually confronted in private by Lidman, the stranger explains he has been hired to murder him, but makes a deal, allowing Lidman to enjoy his birthday party till the end of the night, the novel continues as a battle of wits between the two men.