Two girls from different backgrounds, one an immigrant from Turkey and the other a girl who needs to get out of her father's shadow, apply to the police academy, where they become close friends.
Christer lives in a small town, he is a recently divorced taxi driver and church-yard attendant. He leads a dull small-town existence. But then a young couple arrives, Marie and Erik, and Christer starts a new life. He finds the mysterious Marie totally bewitching. She is a paralysed beauty, a double nature who is only able to talk and move her head. With an insurance fraud in the background the story turns into an erotic triangle drama.
Swedish painter Anders Zorn gained notoriety for his nudes. His works are currently worth millions. The film is set in the time when Zorn, already respected for his art, was commissioned to paint a portrait of the Swedish king. Though an excellent painter, Zorn's personal life is dreadful. A boozer and a womanizer who frequently cheats on his wife, Zorn constantly seeks approval for his art. When he travels to the U.S. for a tour he meets Emilie Bartlett the wife of sculptor Paul W. Bartlett with whom he begins a sporadic affair. After Paul commits suicide, Zorn and Emilie move to Sweden. Zorn disregards his wife's feelings and openly displays his affections for Emilie.
Criminal detective Roland Hassel and his colleague Bolinder is investigating a criminal gang involved in the meat packing business. Bolinder is murdered in front of Hassel and the criminals are out to kill Hassel, the only witness.
The landlubber Stig-Helmer and his Norwegian friend Ole get on a barge by mistake. They arrive at an archipelago and have to spend Midsummer among the fancy rich boat people, their yachts and summer houses.
Spring 1944 - shortage of fuel, refugees, antisemitism and Swedish home made nazism. Eleven year old Ragnar grows up in a home where the parents look forward to a Nazi power takeover in Sweden. At his grandmother, Ragnar meets other thoughts and opinions than at home. Karl Gerhard entertains on the radio. As well as Zarah Leander. It's a chaotic and contradictory time for a boy. Ragnar's Nazi parents still hope for a Nazi-German victory in the war.
