In an unidentified Swedish port city, a man arrives to work as a waiter at the Hotel Busarewski, a place with a stern atmosphere and a manager who uses a wheelchair and projects an inflated self-image. He is housed in a small room and soon begins to serve guests under close supervision. He forms two unlikely friendships: Gustav "The Count" Svensson and Anna, a striking waitress who says she is only there temporarily and plans to move on to a seaside hotel.
After work one day, Anna takes the man to her borrowed apartment and tries to persuade him to run away with her somewhere. He resists and returns to his room. Later, [Gustav "The Count" Svensson] visits and unveils a plan that could bring them both a great deal of money. To pull it off, they must first free a friend of his who is in jail. The Count assigns the man the code name Giliap to use during the operation.
As time passes, Anna tries to have a deeper talk with Giliap. She finds him intriguing, yet he claims that his secret is that he doesn’t have any secrets. She confesses that she fears he will take all her feelings and then disappear, leaving her alone with the aftermath of their connection.
The rescue operation for the Count’s friend goes badly, hindered by poor preparation and ending in confusion. After fleeing the scene, the Count falls seriously ill. Lying in bed with colleagues gathered around, he asks for Anna—who is initially reluctant but eventually comes to his side, much to his satisfaction.
Later, Giliap buys a flower bouquet for Anna, but when he arrives at her apartment, he is told she has left for the seaside hotel. He goes there, finds her, and they share a quiet, emotional moment. They dine together in a room she shares with another girl who works at the same hotel, a moment of fragile tenderness amid growing tension.
The Count arrives at the seaside hotel and asks for whiskey, a small detail that hints at the creeping volatility of the night ahead. In the morning, Anna again tries to persuade Giliap to run away with her before she leaves for work. Outside, she encounters the Count, who shows her money but is rebuffed. He then draws a gun and shoots her.
Giliap and Anna's roommate walk out to the beach and find the money scattered across the sand, beginning to collect it as a grim distraction. They soon discover Anna’s body buried in the sand, a shocking and tragic turn that shatters the fragile hope that lingered between the characters. After the tragedy, Anna’s friends depart on a train, leaving Giliap alone with the heavy consequences of the night.
