In a turn of events that bears the devil's stamp, the grand Lady of Ekeby is turned out of her home, giving the twelve aging "cavaliers" who live there one year's run of the estate and its mines. The gallant, reckless acts of their young leader, Gösta Berling, send a "wild wave of adventure" up and down the shores of Sweden's Lake Löfven. From ballroom's to snowdrifts, each person's life is changed forever.