Åke and his world is a long, lyrical study of a Swedish country doctor of the 1930s. Åke is the doctor's six-year-old son, from whose point of view the film is told. His best friend is Kalle Nubb. Åke is very frightened of the janitor Bergström as well as the lunatic Anne-Marie.

The Runeberg family is an ordinary middle class family, with a house in a suburb, a car and three children. By vacationing in a rented house by the sea, the hope is that the tension and anxiety between Rune and Gunnel will disappear. However, instead of spending time with his family, Rune finds himself attracted to a young man, Petrus. Whatever happens next, Rune realizes, it can never be like it was before.