Who is Harald Olesen?

Harald Olesen is the man murdered hours before the novel begins in his flat at 25 Kreb’s. In his late sixties, Olesen was a member of the Norwegian Home Front Resistance, which battled the Nazis and helped refugees flee into Sweden during World War II. He has held elected and appointed political offices, and is well-loved and well-respected by the public. Nevertheless, he is haunted by the inadvertent killing of Sara’s father and mother during the war. Over the last months of his life, frequent encounters with people associated with wartime events compels him to change his will in favor of Sara to atone for the past, and to pay out money to his illegitimate son, Kristian. Olesen is ultimately killed by his old partner, Andreas, to stop him from confessing the truth about Sara’s parents.