The year is 1897. The whole world is looking towards Spitsbergen where engineer Andrée and his men are preparing to conquer the North Pole in the hydrogen balloon Örnen. Two women remain in Stockholm whose lives will never be the same again.

Gurli Linder, a sharp-sighted cultural figure trapped in a loveless marriage, carries a dangerous secret: her heart belongs to the expedition leader Salomon August Andrée. Anna Charlier, a young and promising pianist, has just become engaged to the expedition's youngest member, Nils Strindberg. When the ropes are cut and the balloon rises into the sky, a wait begins that will last over thirty years.