The second of the Varg Veum movies based on Gunnar Staalesen's Norwegian crime novels. The movie develops Veum's character a bit further (by exposing him to corpses, middle-class families, and gangsters), plus the girlfriend he established a bit of a relationship with at the end of the first film reappears. The relationship between Veum and a senior cop is also developed a bit further, extending their antipathy to new levels. Sleeping Beauty's plot includes murder, incest, pedophilia, drugs, runaways, child prostitution, sex among neighbors, homosexuality (considered by a teenager's father to be worse than his drug abuse), insider trading, organized crime, police stakeouts, attempted matricide, and a pair of broken marriages.

There has been no shortage of women in private investigator Varg Veum's life, but not for the long haul. When the search for her estranged husband Jonas's car brings Varg together with Wenche Andresen, he believes he may have found the one. But there's a problem; Jonas ends up dead, and Wenche is the cops' prime suspect. Varg can't believe this beautiful woman with her old fashioned ideas on love and fidelity can possibly be guilty, and he sets out to crack the case and prove her innocence.

A serial killer is targeting the members of a band called The Guardian Angels. The second of his victims is Rebecca, wife of the band's lead singer Jakob Aasen. Jakob has hired private investigator Varg Veum to spy on Rebecca, whom he suspects of infidelity. Against his better judgement Varg takes on the job, and in an ironic twist he and Rebecca rekindle their former love and sleep together. In a race against time, a doubly compromised Varg strives to halt the killer before he strikes again - and in the process uncovers the dark secret behind the killings.