A working class area of Oslo, 1975: 18-year-old Johan Dalen is an errand boy for the newspaper Dagbladet, his father is in jail, his mother a waitress. His friends are mostly unemployed, causing several to be tempted into the world of crime. When Johan falls in love, he breaks away from the gang. A confrontation with neo-Nazis matures him and and a political interest is awakened.