Sari swims and studies. But the athletic, clever and good-looking young woman carries a secret: she is an epileptic. During a fit she feels as though she is drowning, and she also has visions of being followed by a wolf. Sari is in a casual relationship with her fellow student Ilari. But her heart belongs to “post-romantic” university lecturer Mikko, whose lectures on Baudelaire she attends. When Mikko is thrown out by his unfaithful wife, he and Sari move in together – simply for pragmatic reasons, as they put it. But neither her relatives nor Mikko’s superior are prepared to believe this. Mikko’s appointment as professor is at stake. But the unsettled Sari, badgered by the well-meaning people in her environment, has higher concerns – namely life itself.