The story concerns Edevart (Trond Peter Stamso Munch), a young man who is learning about life an his place in it. In the story, he at first takes up with August (Helge Jordal), a charming trader who is at least half con-man. After trailing along with him for a while, he decides that August is not a man he wants to model his life after. He becomes acquainted with and falls in love with Lovise Margrete (Marika Lagercrantz) a woman living alone on a sheep farm. She has feelings for him also, but she remains true to her missing husband and their acquaintance does not progress to being a full-fledged romance. It is not until her husband returns to her life that any resolution to Edevart's frustration (which lasts for years) can be achieved.

It's the summer of 1951 in Oslo. Lillian and Amund Wang are blessed with their first and only child. Adrian Wang - a boy or a girl?

Norwegian winter, 1915. On the island Bastøy, outside Oslo, a group of young boys aged 11 to 18, are held in an institution for delinquent youth, notorious for its sadistic regime. One day a new boy, Erling, arrives, determined to escape from the island. After a tragic incident, he ends up leading the boys in a violent uprising. When the boys manage to take over the island, 150 soldiers are sent in to restore order.