Liv Ullmann plays the widowed, crippled Anna Fromm, who while traveling on a remote island calls upon reclusive ex-convict Andreas (Max von Sydow) in order to use his telephone. After Anna leaves, Andreas discovers she's left her purse behind; he opens it, hoping to find some identification. A letter in the purse details Anna's unhappy marriage and the depths of her loneliness. Eventually, Anna moves in with Andreas, who has become more closely acquainted with her through the intervention of Anna's friends Ellis and Evan Vergerus (Bibi Andersson and Erland Josephson). But tensions and conflicts ensue, and threaten to destroy the burgeoning relationship between Anna and Andreas.