The story of Juliane, a young woman who learns how to take her fate in her own hands and to trust nobody but herself. The plot is set in the Copenhagen tenements of the 1880s. Juliane is trapped in an unhappy marriage to a man who suffers extended periods of insanity. They have two children. She struggles to improve her social status, however, striving to attain the level of her two elder sisters is not easy. The great upheaval comes when she meets Otto, a smith, younger than Juliane, and in many ways her opposite. He is an ardent socialist, whereas she believes in herself. It is love at first sight when they meet and waltz on the pavement, but their passion really bursts into flame as time goes by. At last Juliane has found a man as strong-willed as she is.

Emma (Line Kruse) is an eleven year-old only child from a wealthy Danish family. Emma's parents seem more interested in their own interests than in her. One evening when Emma overhears her mother talking about how tragic it must be to have your child kidnapped, Emma decides to stage her own kidnapping. She soon meets Malthe, a kind-hearted, child-like, naïve sewer cleaner who literally stumbles on to her. She convinces Malthe that she is a Russian princess whose family is being chased by Bolsheviks, so Malthe lets Emma stay with him in his very modest abode. After being "kidnapped" for a few days, Emma decides to return home. But, just as she is about to return, she overhears a couple of servants talking about how her parents don't seem to be very upset over her dilemma....

Liv Ulmann's directorial debut also had her co-authoring the screenplay (with poet Peter Poulsen) as based on a Henri Nathansen's 1932 novel about an affluent late 19th century Jewish merchant family in Copenhagen. Ulmann focuses on strong-willed daughter Sofie's progress through life: a love affair with a gentile painter, an arranged marriage , childbirth and ever more fateful challenges.