A small town doctor gets a visit from a former study-friend. He doesn't know this former surgeon has become a junkie that wants to steal his morphine.

A pessimistic urban drama, with a musical score by Jack Sels and Max Damasse, charts in strongly expressionistically lit black-and-white images the wanderings of a tormented man through the cosmopolitan port city of Antwerp. The only people to show him understanding are an orphan and two disillusioned women.

宝琳（多拉·范·德·格伦 Dora van der Groen 饰）是一个形单影只的老太太，独自生活，日常起居全要靠妹妹玛莎（Julienne De Bruyn 饰）来照顾，然而突然有一天，玛莎去世了，宝琳平静的生活彻底被打破了。宝琳还有其他两个亲戚，她们分别是经营着服装店的宝莱特（Ann Petersen 饰）和同丈夫一起在布鲁塞尔生活的塞西尔（Rosemarie Bergmans 饰）。 塞西尔的丈夫阿尔伯特（Idwig Stephane 饰）坚决反对塞西尔将宝琳接到家里照顾，虽然宝莱特也不愿意照顾这个性格古怪挑剔的姐姐，但最终，这份重担还是落到了她的头上。无奈之下，塞西尔只得带着宝琳到处跑，在宝琳不断的惹出各种各样的麻烦之后，她终于决定把她送进福利院。

After World War II, Antonia and her daughter, Danielle, go back to their Dutch hometown, where Antonia's late mother has bestowed a small farm upon her. There, Antonia settles down and joins a tightly-knit but unusual community. Those around her include quirky friend Crooked Finger, would-be suitor Bas and, eventually for Antonia, a granddaughter and great-granddaughter who help create a strong family of empowered women.