Anna lives with her father Karl someplace in the outskirts of northern Norway. Karl killed his ex-wife and threw her newborn coloured child into the sea when he discovered that she obviously had been unfaithful. Now Karl is being haunted by her ghost and is developing a serious drinking problem. Anna is looking for the love of her life, but there aren't many bachelors around - until they discovers another small family on the other side of the mountain. They meet a semi-alcoholized widow on Karl's age, her son Peder, and her black adopted son, Ante, that arrived from the sea on a piece of wood.

In a war-ridden and occupied Norway of the future, two young refugees steal an item of great importance from the occupiers. Pursuers ever on their tail, their story guides us through the magnificent Northern landscape, now tattered with the remnants of war and broken industry. On their journey they come across other people, all challenged in their humanity as they try to survive in a Norway that is no longer a land of plenty. The boys must balance brotherhood and ruthless pragmatism. Their childhood is already gone.

Where is the line drawn between the freedom of the press and its financial dependence on owners and advertisers?