Ingmar Bergman's script for this highly intimate picture is about a terrible affair that destroys the marriage of an actress (Marianne) and a musician (Markus). Marianne moved in with her lover in order to continue the affair. But she is haunted by Markus' refusal to give her custody of their daughter. Finally, Markus declares that he may have found a way out of the impasse, but this leads to deception, falsehoods, and, finally, catastrophe.