Summer 2025. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is still ongoing. Donald Trump's trade war is shaking global markets. In Gaza, children are being starved to death. In Europe, forests are burning. In Norway, autumn's parliamentary elections are approaching.

In the blank white spaces at the edges of print, Norwegians live their lives.

In mid-July, newly divorced Jonas Sverdrup travels from Bergen to his hometown of Oslo, after his ex-wife has gone on holiday with their son. For three weeks, Jonas is borrowing a friend's flat, and he wants to spend the time following the impulse method. But the impulses fail to materialise, in a city abandoned by family and friends.

Maud Elvebakken has no need to travel from her hometown of Oslo. She likes change of atmosphere that July offers, the opportunities it provides. She wants to gather friends and acquaintances who are left in the city around a long table in her backyard, and see what happens. Also Jonas, whom she hasn't seen since they were children in the teeming garden of her father.

These summer weeks will open up to new human connections, but also to a past that Jonas and Maud in their adult lives have tried to shield against.

In the Belly of the Whale is a standalone sequel to In Pantalone's House.