A tale of a young woman, Britt, who has two flings, but finds herself with difficult decisions when she finds herself pregnant.
Bound by their all-consuming desire, a young circus tightrope walker and a lieutenant forsake everything to be together and escape to the countryside—only to see their lovers’ idyll gradually give way to poverty and desperation.
A film director has problems coping with his wife and marriage. The daughter is their only connecting link. He is looking for love and sex elsewhere. A married woman becomes his new partner for a while.
In the middle of this film, about the working class in pre-world war II Sweden, is Anders, who wishes to become an author, his father, who is a notorious dreamer and liar, and his mother, who struggles to keep their family alive.
Detective Martin Beck investigates the grisly murder of a police Lieutenant in his hospital room, he soon realises the urgency of the case when it turns out the killer may hold a hatred for all policemen.
