Stockholm policeman Martin Beck is called in to investigate the murder of a fellow officer. Beck and his partner, Einar Ronn, soon discover that the murdered policeman was well known to his colleagues for his excessive brutality, though his misdeeds were never reported to higher authorities. As they pursue their investigation, a sniper...

Stig is a 15-year-old pupil of 37-year-old teacher Viola. He is attracted by her beauty and maturity while she is drawn to him by his youth and innocence, a godsent relief from her drunk and miserable husband.

Hedvig Jensen is a famous ropewalker and is known to her public as Elvira Madigan. She meets Lieutenant Sixten Sparre, a Swedish officer who is married and has two children. They both decide to run away, but since Sixten deserted the army, he cannot find any job and the couple encounters many hardships. Moreover, while on the run, Sixt...

In the middle of this film, about the working class in pre-world war II Sweden, is Anders, who wishes to become an author, his father, who is a notorious dreamer and liar, and his mother, who struggles to keep their family alive.

In the aftermath of a daring post office robbery on Saint Lucy’s Day, two Stockholm vice cops venture into a world of corruption, cover-ups and murder stretching across all levels of society, from the streets to the government.