A small Swedish village, Högboträsk, is so peaceful that crime is nonexistent. The police spend their shifts drinking coffee, eating hot dogs and chasing down runaway cows. This is all well and good for the village's own police, but the police management board wants to discontinue the local police force for lack of crime.

The lives of five seemingly unrelated lost souls intertwine in Sweden’s chilly capital in this delicate and wryly funny ensemble film. A precocious yet untalented young writer, a friendless advertising genius, a tight-lipped workaholic, a shy upper-class boy with a secret crush, and a recently dumped young woman all come to realize hard truths about love and life over the course of several days.

Bitter Sweetheart is the naked truth about Lina Berglund, a perfectly normal 15-year-old who tries to start living like her friends, who seem to have so much fun.