It's Valborg in Skellefteå and John is preparing a speech. On his way to the festivities his car breaks down and he has to spend the night with Astrid who is celebrating on her own.

1956 - the year when Elvis Presley breaks through and Grace Kelly celebrates a fairytale wedding in Monaco. In Ställdalen, a rail bus carrying schoolchildren is crushed and off New York m/s Stockholm collides with Andrea Doria. Frances Bulwark runs its last race and Swedish UN soldiers are flown to Suez. But most of all, it is the year of the Hungarian refugees.

1955 - the year when The rip hunter is buried in snow for eight days before his ski pole with a movie ticket is discovered. Ingrid Bergman gets bad reviews as Joan of Arc, and James Dean dies in a 185 km/h car crash. The knappupgänget, with Povel Ramel and Gunwer Bergkvist, go to Nairobi to shoot a film that will never be finished. Sweden votes no to right-hand traffic and the "Motbok" disappears in October. Charlie Norman writes film music and gets a job in the US, while Sigge Eriksson becomes a world figure skating champion in Moscow. Anita Ekberg visits after years in Hollywood and Louis Armstrong gives concerts in Stockholm. Luleå is building the world's first indoor shopping center, and Viggen Viggo is visible on the TV screen.