We meet the protagonist and narrator, Trond Sander of Norway. It is the cusp of the 21st century, but he is on the last pages of his life, he feels. As an old man, he reflects on his retirement, on his life of work and experience in Oslo, and his decision to move away from the city to live closer to nature. We learn from Trond that he is a loner, and his family doesn't really associate with him whatsoever.
We meet Trond's only neighbor, Lars Haug. Trond's dog and Lars's dog become quick friends, prompting the neighbors to finally meet. They happen to know each other, because Trond accidentally shot Lars's twin brother when they were children, when he was playing with a gun. The memory was so far in the past that Trond is thrown into a spiral of memory associations, remembering his life.
In a flashback of memory, we meet Trond at 15. He remembers going out to steal horses in the years following WWII. He recalls his boyhood rabbit hunts, and his many memories of fishing. They do steal the horses, from a man called Barkald, who has way more horses than he could ever need, say the boys.
Trond's father served in WWII, and the PTSD from fighting against Germany made his father distant. He reflects on his emotional assumptions about his father. We learn of an association with his father—the memory of Trond's own wife who is killed in a car accident. The novel ends with descriptions of languid experiences of nature. He remembers riding stolen horses with his father. He remembers his mother holding his arm as they walked down the street.
