Olof lives alone on his family’s farm after the death of his mother. Unable to read and write, he is dependent on his younger friend, Erik, who helps him in the afternoons. Once a sailor, Erik brags of having known hundreds of women. Out of the blue, Olof advertises in the local paper for a young lady housekeeper, and Ellen, a middle-class city woman, arrives to take over the house and, as the summer goes on, Olof’s heart and Erik’s desire as well.

Johanna works as a journalist on a women magazine. But her boss is an idiot, her salary is ridiculous and her husband has left her for a younger woman. With a great life crisis she decided to try a new medicine.