Through a family and the relation between father and son, the film describes the dilemmas of the Danish population during World War II. Like the government, the farmers and the industry, the father, a successful owner of a big electronics factory, tries to make the best of the situation to keep the wheels rolling. However this leads him into a problematic collaboration with the Germans. His son, on the contrary, reacts against the increasing oppression and persecution of Jews and communists by joining the rising resistance movement.