The first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, introduces the main stars of the trilogy -- Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. Salander is a hacker genius but a grave injustice was done to her when she was 12 while Blomkvist is an investigative journalist who was trapped in a libel conviction. A wealthy octogenarian hired Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his niece, Harriet Vanger, over 40 years ago. He believes that Harriet is still alive, having received a framed flower for his birthdays, an act only she did before her disappearance. If Harriet has died, then someone in his family is making him crazy by making him believe that she is still alive. 
In the second book, The Girl who Played with Fire, Blomkvist's company, Millenium, is working on an exposé about sex trafficking in Sweden. Before the book is published, the author and his girlfriend are brutally murdered and Salander's fingerprints are on the murder weapon. Now, Salander has to face her dark past in order to know who is/are behind these murders and the sex trafficking trade.
The last installment is The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. The book starts with Salander having a bullet in her head and is in critical condition. If she recovers, she will face a trial for three murders. She now has to defend herself to a government which has done many injustices to her. Before you embark on reading the trilogy, I suggest you learn some of terms used in Sweden such as kronnor and ore (currency), gaol, etc., brief yourself with the Swedish history in politics and familiarize yourself with Swedish names. This is the first book (or books) I've read in which the author is Swedish and the story is based in Sweden. At first, I was confused with some of the terms used that I consulted a dictionary. Sometimes I cannot determine the gender of a character based on the name(!).
Larsson has attention to details. He describes the surroundings, the things inside a room, the food eaten by the characters, etc. It's a bit tiring but you'll ge the hang of it. There are lots of characters in each book and he gives the background of each. Most of the time I forgot who this character is and what he has done that I told myself to write down the names of these characters and their description so I won't get confused.
Some may be shocked with the violence and sexual content of the trilogy that I'm thinking how this story will come to life in a movie (if permitted). But, that's not for me to explore, let the directors deal with it. :)
Will I recommend Larsson's trilogy? A definite yes. Though, this is not for the faint of heart.
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