A journey home for two sisters uncovers long-brewing hostility. Ester (Ingrid Thulin) is morose and unwell, dying of some wasting disease, and her sister Anna (Gunnel Lindblom) has ungraciously accepted her duty to take the ill woman back to the old home. In tow with Anna is her pre-adolescent son Johan (Jorgen Lindstrom). Seen mostly from the viewpoint of the boy, the trip is filled with curious people and mundane situations from a train ride to hotel stops. He knows that his mother and aunt dislike each other, and he observes the human nature of deep sibling rivalry with an accepting dispassion. The two women live in silence, tormenting each other.