Chapter 5 Summary

Wallander heads off to see an old friend of his, Sten Widén, who owns a racing horse stable and who Wallander hasn't seen in over ten years. He meets his friend's young female employee, Louise, who reminds him of Linda and points him toward Sten's office. Sten had dreams of being an opera singer, and Wallander dreamed of being an impresario. Both of their dreams died the last summer they saw each other, when Sten realized his voice wasn't good enough and took over his father's stables.

Sten begins drinking almost as soon as Wallander arrives and seems bitter. Sten says he married a woman who was good at managing his father, who drank more and more heavily as he got older. Then, his father died, and Sten got divorced. Sten drinks, dreams of selling the stables, and sleeps with Louise. Wallander...