On the day Iceland’s banking system collapses in 2008, trash collector Gómur Barðdal stumbles upon a severed human nose in a garbage bin outside a luxury home in central Reykjavík. Soon after, his cousin, Geir Norðann, a struggling poet, is employed as a poetry tutor for that same household.

As Icelandic society unravels, the two cousins—along with Zipo, the drive-through girl, Kata, the car dealer, and Didda, the trash lady and former prison guard of the year—set out to solve the mystery of the nose. Who does it belong to, and how did it end up in the trash? Their search pulls them into a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of Icelandic society.

Important Trash is a hilarious and gripping tale of love, intrigue, and societal collapse, bursting with narrative energy and wit.