Kjell Nordenskiöld

The night before her wedding, a nervous bride examines her gifts and picks out a book of romantic short stories. Hoping to while away the evening, she settles on the couch and begins reading "La grande Bretêche" by Honoré de Balzac.

Olle works as maître d' and hopes to buy a hotel with money he borrowed. When his creditor dies Olle gets tricked by his lawyer and has to pay back 50,000 crowns in eight days. In order to pay the money he answers the ads in the newspaper looking for a maid.

Monika from Stockholm falls in love with Harry, a young man on holiday. When she becomes pregnant they are forced into a marriage, which begins to fall apart soon after they take up residence in a cramped little flat.

Rakel, Marta, Karin and Annette are married to four brothers. While waiting in a summer cottage for their husbands to come home, they tell each other stories about their marriages. Rakel tells about the time she had an affair and confronted her husband with it. Marta's story is about how she at first refused to marry and had her child by herself. Karin tells about what happened when one time she and her husband got stuck in an elevator together. While the women tell their stories, Marta's younger sister Maj is planning to elope.

After 15 years of marriage, David and Marianne have grown apart. David has had an affair with a patient of his and Marianne has got herself involved with her former lover Carl-Adam, who's also David's best friend. When she travels to Copenhagen to meet Carl-Adam, David takes the same train as she does, making it look coincidental. Spending time together remembering their past and talking about their future, they come to understand each other again, which leads to a reconciliation.