The mayor receives a letter from America, addressed to the village illiterate, in which his brother writes that he wants to be buried in the Netherlands. People believe that the American is rich and want to make plans for the restoration of the café and the rectory, and the construction of a new cemetery. The mayor also wants the nearby gypsies to move to the designated spot, and the teacher's daughter wants more freedom. Because the doctor is the smartest person in the village, he can get everyone to do what he wants.

Hes, an uptight and disaffected social worker reaching retirement, discovers a young woman, Anna, in the closet of an acquaintance who has committed suicide. Realizing that she has been kept in the apartment all her life, he moves in and helps her comes to terms with the complexities of the real world.