Der brænder en ild

After nearly nine years in Greenland, Martin comes back to his childhood town in 1920, hoping to benefit from a postwar economic upturn. He takes a quick tour of the now-industrialized city and greets old friends at the inn. The homecoming makes him aware of how much the place has changed and how his loyalties may be tested.

Martin visits Martha and is warmly welcomed, but she confesses she has married someone else. She withholds the detail that the groom is Martin's childhood friend Just, creating tension and uncertainty. The revelation foreshadows a complicated web of loyalties ahead.

Just invites Martin to stay and work on the farm, hoping to stabilize their shared fortunes. Martin accepts the arrangement, seeing it as a chance to rebuild his life and support the community. The trio begins navigating new obligations and old friendships alike.

Bent pushes toward selling the farm to salvage his finances, while the bank refuses to lend while there are unpaid loans. The farm's survival hangs in the balance as money woes deepen. This fiscal squeeze sets the stage for further conflicts among the owners.

Fearing eviction, Martha seeks Martin's help and he agrees to lend around 40,000 Kroner. Just resents the intervention, accusing Martin of flirting with Martha. The loan offers temporary relief but strains the dynamics between the three families.

Martha attempts to destroy the farm to secure an insurance payout by setting parts of the property on fire. Just's best horse is trapped in the flames, and Martin, in a painful moment, puts the horse out of its misery. The act shards Martin’s sense of right and wrong and deepens the mounting mistrust.

A few weeks later, a second ‘accident’ occurs, but Martin notices clues—a candle remnants and old newspapers—and keeps quiet. He grows convinced that Martha is orchestrating the disasters. The mystery adds weight to the growing strain among the family and farm hands.

Bent signals a bankruptcy declaration unless the farm is sold, leaving Just with little choice but to accept Martin’s money. The loan cements a fragile alliance, but trust among the men remains fragile. The financial lifeline changes the balance of power on the farm.

Martin ends up marrying Karen, a friend of Martha who has long admired him since his return. The marriage provides Martin with a new stability and an ally within the social circle surrounding the farm. This union further complicates his ties to Martha and Just.

Inge enthusiastically accepts Henrik's marriage proposal, signaling a shift in the younger generation’s loyalties. Henrik’s courtship adds a new layer of romance and competition to the community. The party and city scenes increasingly hinge on evolving relationships.

At the city party, Erna reveals she is pregnant with Jesper’s child, and Jesper denies being the sole culprit. The confrontation escalates into a tense moment that tests the friendships and expectations among the youths. The night exposes the fragility of their romantic entanglements.

Jesper resolves to take responsibility for Erna's child, but explains he cannot marry her because his mother would never accept it. The decision marks a moral compromise for Jesper and highlights the social constraints surrounding their romance. The younger generation begins to face the consequences of pride and secrecy.

By the film’s end, Inge’s engagement to Henrik is secure, Martin’s life is stabilized by his marriage to Karen, and the farm survives under a fragile balance of debt and loyalty. Just and Bent remain strained as financial realities persist, while Martha’s machinations linger in the back of everyone’s minds. The story closes with a nuanced sense that old wounds are not fully healed.