The film describes 24 hours in the life of a family on a isolated island. The father is a writer who has neglected his family for his art. There is also a son, a son-in-law, and Karin, the schizophrenic daughter. The father has discovered that she is incurable and has been observing her with the detached eye of a novelist, recording her illness in his diary. She finds the diary and is accelerated towards madness. The family gathers for a meal and a play put on by the son. The play reveals the disillusionment of the family with their father. During the night Karin begins to hear strange voices. Her husband is a doctor, but he is as helpless as everyone else. The next morning he and her father go fishing. With them gone, Karin must depend on her brother for company, and she seduces him. Afterwards she gets her final breakdown. Alone in an upper room, she imagines God in the form of a spider emerging from the walls. A weird noise is heard. But it is only the helicopter ambulance to take her back to the hospital. Through the daughter’s tragedy however, the father is able to make some contact with his son.