Prologue through Chapter 2 Summary

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, is a multi-faceted thriller weaving a complex web of murder, financial malfeasance, and psychological intrigue. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is facing a two-month prison term for libel when elderly industrialist Henrik Vanger hires him to investigate the murder of his niece, Harriet, more than four decades previously. Blomkvist is to conduct his secret investigation under the guise of writing a biography of Vanger's complicated and dysfunctional family. Blomkvist hires Lisbeth Salander, a young, gifted investigator and computer hacker with deep psychological issues, to help with his research, and the two unwittingly find themselves on the trail of a sadistic serial killer.

The prologue takes place on a Friday in November. A pressed flower is delivered to the home of a man who is celebrating his 82nd birthday. This occurs each year...