Classic Ingmar Bergman drama. The wives of four brothers relate to each other the stories of their marriages as they sit in a summer cottage and wait for their husbands to return, stories that include infidelity, light-hearted romance, and the difficulties of raising children. While they talk, one of the women's young sister, Maj (Gerd Andersson), is planning to elope without her sister's knowledge.

Ascerbic Ingmar Bergman comedy exposing the egotism and pretentiousness rife in the world of artists and critics. Cornelius (Jarl Kulle) is a self-important and highly opinionated critic who has been bribed by the egocentirc womaniser Felix, a famous cellist, to write his biography. But when Cornelius arrives at Felix's lavish home, he finds a string of women in the house, all determined to protect their maestro's privacy. The situation goes from frustrating to humiliating for Cornelius as he is dressed up in women's clothing, photographed in compromising positions, and bombarded with fireworks. He never does get to meet the elusive Felix, but finds out a lot about him from the women in the house, and, armed with this information, decides to blackmail Felix into performing a composition that he, Cornelius, has written.

Ingmar Bergman's romantic comedy of manners focuses on a group of couples, ex-couples and would-be couples during a midsummer weekend in 1900. During the course of the weekend a game of love ensues between the players as three couples meet, separate and exchange partners.