Filmed against the background of the mountainous north of Iceland with its magnificent scenery, this film shows the life of a lone farmer in an isolated fjord, whose inhabitants have slowly deserted it for the relative ease and comfort of the city life. This farmer, however, is too attached to his land and persist in remaining there, despite the difficulties he has to confront. Through his eyes and those of his peers, the trend of Icelandic society away from traditional agriculture towards industrialisation is viewed with sympathetic regret.