Young Elisabeth comes to Västlinge to meet her old relative, the vicar and and his young daughter. She is going to spend the Christmas there in peace and quiet but on Christmas Eve, the grocer is brutally murdered with an axe. Police inspector Christer Wijk comes to the small village to find the murderer. He soon discovers the puzzle of evidence that makes almost everybody a suspect.
On a tourist trip abroad the passengers on the coach witness an assassination attempt on the President Hurkas. One of the tourists has evidence against the perpetrators, and is killed when the coach reaches Sweden. Another passenger observes how one of the perpetrators is picked up by a yellow car. She is kidnapped and locked up in a mental hospital.
A day in the life of a theater ensemble. The acting students are struggling to get one foot ahead of the others and the regular cast is fighting for the good parts.
