Many lives are interwoven in the book: Karl-Arthur himself, the preacher with his self-defeating ideals of self-denial and sacrifice, the practical valley girl Anna Svärd, who holds on to her own to the very end and does not want to share with anyone in heaven or on earth, Charlotte Schagerström who lives happily with her husband but still cannot forget Karl-Arthur, the obnoxious Thea Sundler, the "baron of jokes" Göran Löwensköld, a cavalier figure, and the entire Löwensköld family in Karlstad and at Hedeby Farm.

Anna Svärd returns to her home village in Dalarna filled with dreams of being free from her hard life.

She thinks that she will now have a good time as a priest's wife, but after the wedding and once in Korskyrka, it turns out that Karl-Arthur has acquired the wretched farm in the village, because he naively strives to live in poverty.

Karl-Arthur's ability to engage and captivate people with his fine speech has left him, just as Charlotte predicted in the previous book.

Every time he is about to speak in the pulpit, he thinks he sees his mother in the congregation, which makes him lose his mind.

In the third and final part of the book, the action returns to Hedeby, the lordly seat of the Lion Shields.

During a walk with Charlotte, the baron's wife talks about the curse resting on the Lion Shields, which was cast by Marit in the first book of the trilogy.

Here, it is revealed that Thea is the daughter of Malvina Spaak, who loved the former Baron Adrian and returned General Löwensköld's ring to the family tomb.

When they now appear at markets, Thea can no longer sing cleanly and Karl-Arthur does not preach, but he scolds everything and everyone, furious and embittered by the turn his life has taken.

When the two women return from their walk, they learn that Thea and Karl-Arthur have been to Hedeby and kidnapped Göran's daughter.

The book ends with him returning to Korskyrka to collect contributions for his business, and comes to visit Anna, who has worked up a fortune with the help of the children and the start-up capital.