Having gone through many personal struggles, Eli (Lil Terselius) returns to her native village and begins to work on the farm of Ingeborg Eriksdotter (Anita Bjork), eventually tending a plot that once belonged to her family. But Eli has been gone a long time, and the opaque villagers see her as an outsider—she is suspicious from the start. The year is 1625, and stories of witches conjuring up evil are a part of the daily culture. Eli unwittingly makes matters worse for herself when she is able to cure the sick with herbs, and when she begins an affair with Aslak (Bjoern Skagestad) a farmhand—clearly she must have cast a spell on him. This all adds up to a witch hunt with a ready-made "witch." Eli, in the end, is officially accused of witchcraft by a devious bailiff, while Ingeborg makes every attempt to save her, and Aslak himself does not survive the stress—hardly a good omen for the outcome of the trial.
Young Maria lives her upper class life in the shadow of her husband Carl, and gets pregnant. She doubts her value as a wife, and is drawn to a couple of other less respectable men., which leads to a crisis.
Thorvald runs a local bus route, with a 1923-model bus nicknamed 'Gamla', in the Norwegian country side. Thorvald himself always takes time to make numerous stops along his route to help out with the smallest of problems. The old man is so caring he sometimes forgets to charge money from his travelers. But modern times are lurking on the doorstep - in the figure of a grumpy county official and an offer from an outside bus company.
Shipping broker Landheim tries to save a failing theater, but falls in love. Is the broker a journalist, and the actress a prima donna? Who knows?
Erik Dahl escapes from prison where he is serving a sentence for smuggling. He seeks out his family, but the police have already been there, and he will have to flee. Erik alters their appearance and start a new life as fishmonger in a small town, but he plans to leave the country...