Nobel Laureate Harry Martinson's famous poem consists of 103 cantos and relates the tragedy of a space ship which, originally bound for Mars with a cargo of colonists from the ravaged Earth, is ejected from the solar system after an accident and into an existential struggle.
To increase sales of the magazine Veckohatten, the management decides to invest heavily in the beauty contest Miss Sweden. A communist cell is planning to sabotage the competition, because it is sexist.
