A story about a boy named Anders, who lives in an ordinary Swedish family in an apartment at the train station. Through his childhood, he experiences life's glorious scents of beautiful flowers and green forest, close and warm relationships with his grandparents and joyful play with his siblings. He has a strong friendship with his father and a great love for his mother. Still he lives in fear of death. He is afraid of losing all of this that is so valuable to him. In his thoughts and fears, he often turns often God, just as his sister, mother and grandparents, and ask Him for help and protection.

A young idealistic civil servant, Arvid Falk, leaves the drudgery of bureaucracy to become a journalist and author. As he explores various social activities—politics, publishing, theatre, philanthropy, and business—he finds more hypocrisy and political corruption than he thought possible. He takes refuge with a group of "bohemians", who meet in a red dining room in Berns Salonger to discuss these matters.