The film unfolds in ten acts, accompanied by a prologue and an epilogue that frame the narrative.
It begins by focusing on Marianne, who is depicted standing by a table cluttered with photographs in a brightly lit room. Addressing the audience, she picks up various pictures haphazardly laid out before her, some evoking nostalgic smiles or gentle sighs. However, her mood shifts when she lifts a photograph of her husband, prompting her to reflect on their journey together—highlighting their moments of happiness intertwined with sadness and ultimately their separation. As she reminisces, she touches on her husband's second marriage, which also ended in disappointment, while she herself had moved on to marry again. After losing her second husband in a tragic glider accident, she expresses a longing to reconnect with her first love.
Driven by these thoughts, Marianne embarks on a journey to the countryside, seeking out her ex-husband Johan, who is the father of her daughters, Martha and Sara. At this point in Johan’s life, he is grappling with his own family challenges, brought forth by his financially struggling son, Henrik, and his granddaughter, Karin. The 19-year-old Karin becomes the center of attention as she aspires to excel in music. Henrik, hoping to buy Karin an old Fagnola cello to improve her chances at an audition for the European music conservatory, seeks an advance on his inheritance from Johan. An understanding Johan contemplates this request while taking it upon himself to reach out to the cello dealer.
While Henrik is away conducting his orchestra in Uppsala, Johan privately converses with Karin. He shares an enticing proposal from Ivan Chablov, the conductor of the St. Petersburg orchestra and a long-time friend, suggesting that Karin attend the esteemed Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. As Karin weighs her options, she stumbles upon an old letter from her late mother, Anna, addressed to Henrik a week prior to her passing. In this poignant letter, Anna urges Henrik to ease the domineering grip he has over Karin as her cello instructor. When Henrik returns from Uppsala, no longer holding a prestigious concertmaster position, he insists on performing Bach's Cello Suites with Karin. Ultimately, she confronts him about his controlling nature and shares her plan to study in Hamburg with her friend Emma under the guidance of the renowned Claudio Abbado. In a final attempt to sway her, Henrik requests that Karin play the sarabande from Bach's 5th Cello Suite, which she has already mastered.
Time passes, and we later find Marianne and Johan reflecting on their lives after Karin has departed for Hamburg. Marianne receives devastating news: Henrik has been hospitalized following a suicide attempt, having taken pills and inflicted harm upon himself. In a moment of emotional turmoil, Johan visits Marianne, and an intense connection leads them to share a moment of vulnerability together in bed.
As the film progresses, Marianne holds a still of the couple in bed while narrating the aftermath of their encounter. She reveals how their correspondence continued until one day when Johan became unreachable. Her thoughts then drift to Anna, leading her to recollect a significant visit to her ailing daughter, Martha, in a sanatorium. In this poignant moment, she shares the profound experience of touching her daughter for the very first time, filled with a mixture of sorrow and connection.
