It's the early 20s, just after World War I. In Sweden, restrictions on alcohol are harder than most people like and so, smuggling is abundant. In this particular little town, smuggling is ruled by one man, who is the king of smugglers. The smugglers who work for him don't get to keep much of the profit themselves, but if they don't work for him, they get in trouble, which his henchmen make sure. However, Albert Jansson arrives in town and starts taking up the competition with the smuggler king. Meanwhile, the police, together the customs office, try to catch the smugglers.

At dawn on June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. On the same morning, Germany demanded permission from the Swedish government to transport 18,000 German soldiers from Norway to Finland across Sweden by railway. This was a difficult problem for the Swedish government. On one hand remaining friendly with Germany at the height of its power, on the other maintaining a strict neutrality. The Swedish cabinet meet in Stockholm to decide upon the best reply to the German demands.

Prince Hamlet is the son of the late king. He hears from a ghost that the current king, Claudius, has murdered his father. Hamlet is unsure if this is true. He test the king by pretending to be insane and put on a show where the murder is reconstructed.