After taking a bullet to the head, Salander is under close supervision in a hospital and is set to face trial for attempted murder on her eventual release. With the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his researchers at Millennium magazine, Salander must prove her innocence. In doing this she plays against powerful enemies and her own past.

Slow and mostly devoid of the stellar chemistry between its two leads, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest is a disappointingly uneven conclusion to the Millennium trilogy.