Mikael has taken leave from work because he thinks he needs a change in life. He stays at home with his wife Sigrid and daughter Selma. Sigrid's brother, Frederick, is a scientist and needs subjects to test an experimental anti-depressant, to see if there are side effects. Mikael decides to volunteer for the testing without telling his wife and daughter. During the process he writes a diary about how he feels each day and about the effects of the drugs. The pills make him gradually feel more free, as if he has no boundaries. He leaves the home his wife inherited from her father and goes to stay at his mother's old rural home.