 They are important in introducing many people and locales which play an important part in later books.These include Hole's favorite "watering hole" - Schroeder's, near to his apartment in the rather disreputable Bislett area of Oslo, and its sharp-tongued barmaid Rita; Hole's direct superior Bjarne Møller, who highly appreciates him and is willing to cover up for his drinking and other misdemeanors; Hole's father, who never recovered from the loss of his wife, the detective's mother, as well as his warm-hearted sister to whom he is deeply devoted; and Hole's memorable first encounter with Tom Waaler who would become his arch-enemy - mutual hate at first sight, with their first meeting leading within five minutes to a fist-fight, harbinger of an enmity which would further escalate in later books.