Tre kärlekar

Gösta visits his parents' home. Over the farm, there rules a heavy atmosphere of a handed-down-from-father-to-son heritage. His father is worn out and wants Gösta to take over. On a dance floor, Gösta meets Lilian and falls deeply in love.

Lilian Melin's illegal abortion has failed. Out of worriment for her, Gösta sends his sister Britta to the hospital to help Lilian. He himself is busy with an air mission for the Defence Staff. When arriving to the hospital on an illegal leave of absence, Gösta is told by the doctor that Lilian is hurt but not the baby. To defend Lilian from legal consequences, Gösta lies to the doctor that he is the father of the in-the-future coming child. His illegal leave is reported to the Wing Commander but all repressive actions against Gösta are rejected when Gösta accepts a new but dangerous flight mission, this time near the German border.

The supposed dangerous reconnaissance mission over Peenemünde in Germany ended in a total anticlimax, with a motor burn in the plane, for Gösta and his crew, and as U.S. aircraft bombed Hamburg as a diversion. Lilian is allowed to leave the hospital and she travels home to close Kafé Hedman, to which she is leaseholder. The farm is in the middle of the autumn harvest when Egon, Britta's and Gösta's father, is admitted to hospital as a matter of urgency. Britta, who has helped Lilian run the café while on hospital, ponders if she can buy the company. She meets with the father of her son, a bank director, for a loan from the bank where he works. Lilian enjoys a couple of weeks in the company of Gösta, who is home for a leave of absence, legally this time and for four weeks, if nothing new happens in Germany.

During Gösta's leave, Gösta and Lilian spend a happy time in the archipelago, even though she is expecting a child with another man. Gösta studies by correspondence to become an air force officer to continue as an aviator after the war. Lilian offers her help. She doesn't have much else to do for some time to come. Britta borrows money from the banker who is the father of her child. Love picks up again and they spend the night at a hotel in Stockholm. She wants to continue despite that he is married and has two children. At Boda farm there are difficulties. The siblings' father, Egon Nilsson, has a blood clot in his foot and will not work for a long time. Gösta's older brother, Orvar, does not want to take over the work, but he tries to reach Gösta with a telegram, sent in the name of his mother, Ester Nilsson. When Orvar doesn't get an answer, he seeks out Gösta and tries to persuade him to take over the farm. He himself is focused on a future as a member of parliament in 'Bondeförbundet' (the Farmers' Union). Orvar turns out to know Lilian better than she has hinted to others. During a fishing trip, Orvar wounds Gösta with taunts about Lilian's past life. The two brothers part as enemies. In the summer night, Gösta proposes to Lilian, who says yes after great anguish. When they visit her home, her uneasiness is heightened. It seems that she regrets her yes, but he makes her a solemn promise: She can leave him whenever she wants.

The siblings' father, Egon Nilsson, has come to his farm as a sprained man. He's heard the talk: "Egon is so stingy he doesn't even takes time to shit." Gösta's marriage gives new nourishment to his father's dream: his son takes over the farm. Against all traditions, the father decides that the farm should pay for Gösta's wedding, and it should not be a skimpy one. Gösta's meeting with his father-in-law is not successful. The building constructor, Alfred Melin, believes that Gösta has taken his daughter for the money. Despite Lilian's protest, Gösta leaves the Melin manor and they do not see each other until the wedding. The families meet at the church for the first time. Tension immediately arises. Lilian's anguish remains all the way to the bridal chair, but she finally says yes in front of the priest. The dinner will be strange. There has been no skimping on this and that, and Orvar becomes very drunk. In his speech to the bride and groom, Gösta's father donates the entire farm, including land, forests and rapids to the newlyweds. Surprised by that, Gösta can do nothing but say thank you while Orvar goes aside to vomit up his bitterness. The dance begins, but the mood is gloomy. Gösta will not put up with his father's compulsion. He secretly picks up his BSA motorcycle. Britta takes care of Lilian's bridal crown and the bride and groom flee from their own wedding.

Wing Commander Erik Söderberg invites the newlyweds, Gösta and Lilian, to his home for dinner. Erik Söderberg's German wife, Anna, is Jewish and noticeably depressed. Partly because her parents are still in Germany, and partly because Lilian's visible pregnancy triggers Anna Söderberg's desire to have children so badly. Erik Söderberg advises Gösta to think about the future and apply to transport aviation while there is time, but Gösta doesn't want to listen. His dream is to become an air force officer. At Boda Farm, there is still a shortage of labor and Egon, Gösta's father, cannot work as before. The large power company measures the rapids, but Egon Nilsson opposes the company's idea of a future power plant construction, in the same way that his father and grandfather kept the forest companies away from the farm's forest earlier. Britta and her banker continue their double life, while she transforms the café into a thriving hotel business. As originally was planned, Orvar decides to take over the farm and he is supported by his fiancée, Eva. He feels bad for his parents, but he is also well aware that the forest will increase in value after the war. The farm is a slumbering million-dollar fortune, but when Orvar makes Egon an offer, Orvar's father takes no interest in that. The farm is Gösta's. After a quarrel, Orvar leaves the farm with the words: "You'll never see me again. I'll only get here to the estate inventory."

At the end of the Second World War, many foreign aircraft landed in southern Sweden and several squadrons were tasked with piloting in often badly damaged bombers. Gösta Nilsson flies the new SAAB 18 aircraft. On the way home from a mission, his aircraft disappears and an extensive search is launched. Lilian, who is heavily pregnant, is informed of the accident and is taken care of by Anna Söderberg, Wing Commander Erik Söderberg's German wife. The two women have become good friends, perhaps united by Lilian's pregnancy. Lilian is shocked and confused, but she never breaks down. Two men are found: They are Rota, Gösta's good friend, who is badly injured, and Boström, who has broken his neck. Gösta has parachuted in and is eventually found completely unharmed. He and Lilian meet later that evening. They are both happy and heartbroken. A couple of packed suitcases reveal that she has planned to go away, but she has been hindered by everything that has happened during the day. Pressured by Gösta, she admits that she had planned to go and give birth to the child and then give it up for adoption immediately after birth. When Gösta is completely uncomprehending, it dawns on Lilian that he has never understood the worry and the reason for her fear. He has not understood that it is Orvar, his own brother, who is the father of the expected child. After the unexpected blow, Gösta can't and won't stop her from staying, but suddenly Lilian decides to stay with him.

At Boda, Egon expects Gösta to come home and take over, but Gösta wants to become an air force officer. Orvar works for an expansion of the great rapids. For Britta, both the boarding house business and her love for Enekrona are thriving.