Christmas is approaching, and snow blankets the little coastal town of Christiansand. The holiday calm spreads through the streets, but not to the young Miss Amalie Gren. Inside her, a storm is brewing. She was completely caught off guard by the proposal from Captain Sjaaland, but before she was able to give him her answer, the powerful Mrs. Gyllenmaark told him yes on her behalf! The Captain is certainly handsome and charming, but Amalie wants to follow her heart – and she is full of doubt.

In the serving girl Marte’s heart, however, there is no doubt. She knows who she loves, but she cannot have him. Jacob is the son of the Lord she works for, and far above her station. If the two were caught together, Marte could lose her job and her family would starve.

Then, without a word, Jacob goes to Copenhagen to enlist in the army. The temptation is gone, but Marte misses him dearly and she fears from his life. Especially now, that the Napoleonic Wars are ravaging the continent, and the consequences increasingly impact the Danish-Norwegian Kingdom.