The wealthy Olaf Brammer is the real owner of a nationwide company that trades in household goods. But he has no say, as the authoritative general manager Schram manages both the business and Olaf Brammer with a sure hand. The situation at work, defeat in love and a dead goldfish make Olaf Brammer depressed, and he decides to travel away from it all.

In the late 19th century, two Swedish emigrants, Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle, arrive on the Danish island of Bornholm hoping to find work on a farm and save enough money to travel to the United States of America.

The attic of a city house is the home to a colony of artists. Among them is a writer, whose corpus is larger than her output. We also meet a hard-of-hearing poet who can still hear the grass growing. There's a painter, a sculptor and more. All are penniless - hoping that one day they will experience their breakthrough. "The Seventh Heaven", as the corridor is called, also houses two prominent residents, Fyrtårnet and Bivognen. They have set up a small diner and engage lively with the artist from the colony.