Ystad

Ystad serves as a transfer point in the novel’s Stockholm–Świnoujście routes, joining rail travel with the M/S Wawel ferry. It appears both in the movement of amphetamine couriers into Sweden and in the return journey arranged for a woman recruited into the operation, making the town part of a practical network of transport rather than a separately described setting.

Routes Through Ystad

One trafficking route brings couriers from Świnoujście aboard the M/S Wawel ferry and then by train from Ystad toward Stockholm. Fifteen people carry two thousand grams each, with arrivals spread across the night and morning; their onward movement feeds the operation’s distribution across Stockholm. Ystad is thus a transit link in a coordinated supply chain, not the destination of the shipment.

The route also works in the other direction for a woman who has helped the operation. Piet Hoffmann arranges two tickets for her: a train from Stockholm to Ystad and a ferry from Ystad to Świnoujście. The sequence makes the town the point where her rail journey ends and her passage out of the country continues by sea.

Role in the Operation

The two journeys give Ystad a recurring logistical function. In the inbound movement, it connects ferry arrivals to the rail leg toward Stockholm; in the woman’s departure, the same connection carries a participant away from the operation. The town’s significance lies in this practical interchange, which supports both the movement of the criminal enterprise’s supply and the return journey of someone it has used.