In his late fifties, Jörgen Hofmeester is struggling with the realization that his life is slipping away. After losing his job and wife, running out of savings, and his older daughter leaving, he is left with only his younger daughter, Tirza, in whom the lonely Jörgen now places all his hopes and expectations. The girl becomes the center of his world, and her upbringing is Jörgen's mission. He showers his daughter with increasingly obsessive paternal devotion, until fate deals him the final blow - Tirza leaves her father and goes to Africa with her boyfriend. Jörgen, who has so far stoically endured life's injustices, sets out after her, finally determined to stand up to the injustices of the world.