A hypocritical and selfish older sister holds power over her younger, unselfish and humanitarian sister by hiding the shame of her younger sister's pregnancy, with the purpose of upholding the aristocratic status of their name and household. Or that is what we are told, because underneath the facade, is a story of two sisters, who have had intimacy with the same man.
Joe, fed up with his in-laws, runs away from home. Enjoying his newly gained freedom and his father-in-laws credit card, he seduces a number of girls, buys them expensive presents and wines and dines them. His joyride soon ends when he finds out that his wife - and several other girls - are pregnant.
An elderly couple leave their retirement home to make one last journey back to their home in the Western Fjords.
Trausti returns to Iceland just in time to be entangled in a family feud over a stranded whale-cadaver. His mother (the family head) is mortally wounded and Grim kills Erikur; the other clan leader. Isold, daughter of Erikur now takes his place. Isold and Trausti are attracted to each other, but Isold was promised to Hjoerleifur - the son of the Bishop (of Iceland) and his powerful wife. However, Isold has a plan...
The actress is to produce a play with the local amateur group and old romantic flames are rekindled. At the same time an American army unit is making experiments with a new and powerful energy source in the vicinity, promising the community a prosperous future.