Winter, 1984 The film director Johannes returns home from a lecture only to face a catastrophe. His wife Signe has killed their 9-month-old daughter Maria. It is unbearable and incomprehensible that a beautiful, loving schoolteacher kills her own child. Johannes is forced to stay composed and - even more - try to protect Signe against a legal system, which may pass a heavy sentence on her. Johannes knows that Signe is vulnerable. He has seen her dark sides and fears that a possible indeterminate imprisonment sentence will put her in a hopeless situation. He will do anything to give Signe her life back. He believes that it happened through no fault of her own. If anyone is guilty, it is he himself and his focus on his film career. A series of flashbacks linked with conversations between Johannes and a psychiatrist may give us the key to understanding the tragedy...