Christmas 1945. In a train from Stockholm to Berlin are a motley collection. It is the failure of the author Gunnar who wants to leave his old life and make a contribution in Berlin; physician Henry who plan to marry Marie and likewise Henry's current wife Karin, who he plans to kill during the journey, the middle-aged gay couple Pompe and Sixten, a soldier going to Uppsala but is on the wrong train: the cheerful and cynical old Margaret, and a dressed elf and a surly conductor. With the train are also a number of Baltic refugees accompanied by two nuns to be sent to Germany.
Junior, a teenage gnome, wants nothing more than to invent gizmos and gadgets in his tree-house laboratory. But Junior's old school father, Jalle, the head gnome of the forest, would prefer his son follow in his footsteps and one day be in charge of his own forest. In spite of their differences, on the eve of the first winter storm Junior helps Jalle distribute food rations. Then disaster strikes.
Ingemar waters the "forbidden plant" and encounters Mebana; a mix between a woman and a plant, who grows up from the soil. Soon Ingemar falls in love with her.
