Poul Nordstrøm

A suspense tale revolving around the memories of a Danish saboteur as he awaits his execution in a German war-time prison.

In the year 1646, Denmark is at peace. Only recently have the last occupying troops left Jutland, leaving behind the sad traces of iron heels. The administration has partially collapsed, the kingdom is short of money, and what money there is is unevenly distributed. This is the unusual and sad background to this unpretentious account.

Consul Bergholtz is ill and will probably die soon. Family members gather at her bedside, each with the expectation of receiving a share of the impending inheritance. Among the heirs are her sons, the alcoholic editor Oscar and the homosexual lecturer Ejnar, as well as their pretty and recently divorced sister Esther. But when her grandson, the cunning and unscrupulous businessman Kurt, shows up, the intrigues are stoked. Kurt couldn't care less about good manners and cultural veneer; he simply takes what he wants.

Our bandit story takes place in the good old days, when strife, war, and lawlessness were the order of the day—a time quite unlike our own. In Rold Forest, the daring robber chief Justi roams, stealing from the rich to help the poor. His right-hand men are Reinald, who is more interested in the cash rewards, and the cunning minstrel Ole Hopsasa, whose greatest joy is to quench his ever-burning thirst and sing a cheerful song.

Among the many guests at the Rebild festival is Andreas Andersen, a man in his early 30s. But he has not come to Denmark to attend the big festival. Seventeen years ago, he was a poor farmhand at "Hovgården," but he fled the country because the farmer's wife, the authoritative Martha Larsen, accused him of a theft that was actually committed by her son, Henrik. Andreas came to America and led a turbulent life here before becoming a farmer and earning a lot of money.