Counter to the popular image of Erik XIV as the mad king Strindberg paints him as an intelligent but weak king, brought down by his insecurities.

Helge, a factory worker, awakens to life after he almost loses his arm in a machine. His happiness at not losing his arm has him see the world in a new way. He takes a vacation, where he sees Klara, a beautiful girl. He decides to spend the rest of the vacation searching for her.

Loosely based on the Sala gang, a group of five people that committed murders and thefts in Sweden in the 1930s.