THE VILLAGE PHANTOM

Fiona Haegerbergh, a journalist for The Metro Standard, arrives in a rural Norwegian town to investigate rising drug use. Officially, she’s there to produce a web series— but Fiona has her own agenda: uncovering the truth behind the recent suspicious death of a local drug dealer. Fiona’s editor urges her to stay on task, as much is riding on the Metro Standard’s survival—now largely dependent on the recent success of its popular web series. The townspeople are wary, hostile even, and make little effort to hide their mistrust of outsiders. The local sheriff, initially resistant to cooperating, reluctantly warms to Fiona. Though they clash, he begins to see her as a tenacious and unexpectedly helpful ally. Together, they await the toxicology report that may finally illuminate the cause of death. As Fiona interviews locals for her web series, she also digs deeper into the town’s hidden drug network. She discovers that Jenny—a former schoolmate of Fiona’s brother and now an employee at the local copper mine—may have inherited the deceased dealer’s operation. At the town skatepark, Fiona meets a sharp-witted teenager who tries to protect vulnerable youths from slipping into drug use. Despite his efforts, some are already using. Then, tragedy strikes: Jenny is found drowned in the thawing lake after a string of unseasonably warm days—cutting short Fiona’s chance to dig deeper into her suspected role in the town’s drug network. When the toxicology report finally arrives, Fiona pieces together the truth about the drug dealer’s murder. But without hard evidence—and with an unexpected figure threatening to expose her own secret—she finds herself torn, unable and unwilling to go to the police.