The story follows the lives and relationships of several families in the small Norwegian town of Lovranger and the capital, Oslo, from World War II to 1972, when Norway votes against joining the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to today’s European Union (EU).

Norwegian winter, 1915. On the island Bastøy, outside Oslo, a group of young boys aged 11 to 18, are held in an institution for delinquent youth, notorious for its sadistic regime. One day a new boy, Erling, arrives, determined to escape from the island. After a tragic incident, he ends up leading the boys in a violent uprising. When the boys manage to take over the island, 150 soldiers are sent in to restore order.