A rural valley community provides the backdrop for parallel coming-of-age stories: Synnöve, a sun-bathed farm girl raised by devout parents and entrusted with household tenderness, and Thorbjörn, a hot-tempered boy from a neighboring fir-wooded farm burdened by family superstition and strict paternal discipline. The narrative follows their growing awareness of social expectations, influences from a worldly farmhand, and the developing affection between them, while local customs, moral tests, and questions of luck and reputation create obstacles. Landscape and recurring images of light frame themes of faith, character formation, and the struggle to reconcile individual impulse with communal norms.