Maria’s world collapses when her little brother dies of cancer. When her mother falls ill and withdraws into herself, Maria goes to spend her summer holiday with her grandparents. Here she meets Jacob, and with his help and encouragement regains her grip on life. By her courage and unfailing love she is also enabled to rescue her mother from her despondency.

Torun Lian made her directorial debut with the film based on the book, and ending up winning the 1999 Ingmar Bergmann Award (script and director) as the first Norwegian to do so.