Martin, a middle-aged coffee planter in Kenya, returns to his native Copenhagen after a 17-year absence. He begins an affair with Lis, a pacifist half his age. Eventually Lis breaks off their relationship, unable to comprehend Martin's obsession with death and the haunting memories of his participation in the World War II resistance murder of a Nazi collaborator. Threatened by the inability of Martin to escape his past, Martin's wartime acquaintances kill him.