Axel and Yanne came to Oslo as child refugees. The siblings were already separated at the airport. They never met again. Yanne grew up with simple people in the East of Oslo, where she now runs an Asian restaurant. Axel has become an unpleasant yuppie, who has currently found shelter in his wealthy parental home in the city's West End. Here, Yanne's Polish friend Maria works as a cleaning lady – and she is the one who brings the two of them together again. In Sara Johnsen's complex family drama, private anguishes are shown as the consequence of international conflicts. While his love for the lonely migrant labourer Maria could lead the snotty-nosed, alienated Axel to his family roots, Yanne appeases a Norwegian soldier's trauma after he orphaned two siblings on a mission in Afghanistan. In this manner, "Upperdog" interlinks global conflicts with local colour and the seemingly private with current political issues.