At 63 years old, author Karen Blixen is a lonely literary sensation until she meets talented 30-year-old poet Thorkild Bjørnvig. She promises him stardom if he will obey her unconditionally.

Midwife Ella and her staff fight a daily battle to provide the best possible care for expectant mothers and newborns despite understaffing. At the same time, she is doing everything she can to keep her feelings for a married paediatrician at bay.

In 1940, a Danish industrialist, cooperates with and profits from the German occupation of Denmark, while his family find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.