In 1943 Malmö, 15-year-old Stig is attracted to his teacher Viola, 22 years his senior, who, drawn to his youth and innocence, believes the lad is a God-sent relief from her miserable marriage to a drunken, unfaithful lout.
In the 1910s, journalist Arvid Stjärnblom and painter's daughter Lydia Stille fall in love with each other.
Jim, a boy from Stockholm, arrives at a foster home in Luleå. He is placed in a special class that is putting on a musical under the guidance of an anarchistic and committed teacher. The class consists of young people who are more or less scarred by life and therefore considered incapable of participating in regular school education. For Jim and his classmates, working on the musical becomes a journey filled with conflict, but also a search for validation and self-confidence.
