With few options, newly pardoned convict Leila agrees to work as an assistant to a blind pastor. Father Jacob spends his days answering the letters of the needy, which Leila finds pointless. But when the letters stop, the pastor is devastated and Leila finds herself cast in a new role.
Fredrik, the single father of Magda, is too occupied with his race horse Kisa to see that his daughter has problems in school. But one day Magda brings home a new friend, Helena, caller at the local bingo hall. Fredrik is soon smitten by the frank and outspoken 29-year-old. Helena and a self-confident Magda help Fredrik to see why his horse never wins the races.
Finnish farm boy Paavo Turtiainen is hired into the Parisian household of Swedish theatre producer Lars Schmidt and his wife, actress Ingrid Bergman. The couple “adopt” and train Paavo to navigate among the rich and famous. Later on, Paavo becomes the personal secretary for Schmidt and Bergman. His responsibilities include building up the personal archives of both Schmidt and Bergman. Ms. Bergman’s archives are now at the film archives of Wesleyan University and Schmidt’s archives are in the United States Library of Congress. After Schmidt and Bergman divorce Paavo decides to settle permanently in New York. His first clients are friends of Schmidt: celebrities and business personalities Paavo has met while working in Paris and on Dannholmen, a Swedish island owned by Schmidt. Eventually Paavo becomes an acclaimed chef and event planner for high society. Along the way, he has learned to stand on his own feet.
