Film about a woman's struggle in a male-dominated society in the late 1800s. Amalie Skram was one of our first female writers who fought woman liberation cause. In a society that did not accept that a woman could have its own independent work, it was difficult for a woman to work as a creative artist, wife and mother. The author's autobiographical novels "Professor Hieronimus" and "On St. Jorgen" underlies this film.

Young Maria lives her upper class life in the shadow of her husband Carl, and gets pregnant. She doubts her value as a wife, and is drawn to a couple of other less respectable men., which leads to a crisis.

Douglas is a stuck-up policeman who works in the intelligence services, who believes that his status makes it okay to make other people's lives miserable.