The sailor Alfred is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when World War II breaks out. Suddenly the sailors are in the front of the war, without any weapons.

When World War II breaks out, Alfred, a working-class newly-wed father of three in Bergen, and his childhood friend are at work on a merchant ship in the middle of the Atlantic. Suddenly they find themselves on the front lines, fighting in civilian clothes, without weapons, as their ship is targeted by German submarines. At the same time, we follow Alfred's wife and children back home in Bergen and their everyday lives during wartime.