The year is 1946. Dr. Bertil Burman works at a Red Cross Hospital in Vienna. One day, a barely teenage girl, Leni Rosner, collapses at his reception.
Orphan boy and vicar's daughter fall in love but her father is strongly opposed to their relationship.
Young Henning and his friends are struggling to stay alive in 19th century Stockholm, where he has ended up in search of employment. In the harsh city, he and his friends dream of the good life while struggling for their survival.
As three pregnant women wait to have their babies in a hospital in Stockholm at the outbreak of the Great War, they relive their childhood and youthful experiences.