A recently separated ladies' magazine reporter, a young couple who are in love, an unfaithful but jealous crane driver, a longing father and his unknowing daughter, the home coming fisherman's son who seeks reconciliation with his parents, the farmer who thirsts for tenderness. We meet them all in Svenska hjältar, a modern saga about the chipped heroes of everyday life.

The film is based on a series of immensely popular Swedish children's books, about the boy Bert, who is just hitting puberty and having the usual problems with it. But that's where the usual ends abruptly.

Four men who dream of sailing around the world build a sailboat. They live in the same area and the families socialize. The plan is that their wives shall join the trip in turns.