Reykjavik, 1971. Jóhanna returned with her son Snorri from Paris, where they lived for many years. She is on her way to the island of Flatey to bury her father, a man who devoted his life to the mysterious medieval manuscript Flateyjargátu. Jóhanna wants to arrange her father's affairs as soon as possible so that he can leave again, but that turns out differently.