Danish teens come of age in 1963. Bjorn and Erik are close friends. Bjorn is pursued by Kirsten, a future Stepford wife, but he falls for Anna, who initiates him into love and sex. Erik is somber, caring for his home-bound mentally-ill mother while his strict father rules his life. He desires Kirsten, but she's unattainable. Pregnancy, a horrific abortion, an engagement party, and a revelation about the rectitude of Erik's father lead to a climax: Bjorn and Erik must stand up to controlling adults.

In the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean on the island of Troldø lives a single farming family. The grandmother Gunhild is the only woman on the island and her son Enok is unable to find a wife. Gunhild's advanced age causes her to worry for the future of the family. So she initiates a plan to get Enok married, a plan that is put into action when the young Eva becomes stranded on the island. But the community must be shaken by several dramatic events before Gunhild can breathe a sigh of relief.

Christian's father is dying of cancer and Christian is left alone with his mother. Together they try to understand and find a new way to live on with each other and with the person they have lost. Christian turns to a little hedgehog he has never seen. He feeds it, believes in it and learns to say "hedgehog" in several different languages.

16-year-old Claudia is a devout Catholic and has promised her mother not to have sex before marriage. However, she is also hopelessly besotted with her older neighbor Jens.