A young writer in late 19th-century Kristiania, unable to find a publisher for his works, takes refuge in daydreams to ease his terrible hunger pains. Having already pawned all he owns and being too proud to accept charity, he is finally reduced to chewing on discarded bones and eating scraps of paper. When he is evicted from his room for nonpayment of rent, he wanders through the streets, berating strangers for imagined insults, sleeping on park benches, and retreating further and further into hallucinations. On the strength of a promised fee for an article, he finds another room, but he is so weak from hunger that he is unable to finish his task. One night he meets a young woman, whom he had previously seen, and accompanies her to her home. Intrigued by his appearance, which she mistakenly attributes to bohemianism, she initially entices him to make love with her; then, in sudden revulsion at his condition, she spurns him. Later she sends him money, but too proud to accept what he has not earned, he throws it away. Without food, money, lodgings, warm clothing, or affection, he decides to leave the city and work as a deckhand on a ship. As the vessel sails off, he looks around expectantly, still believing in the brightness of the future.
