Two older women catch each other's eye at their hairdresser's. One is Maya, with a tart tongue and a businesslike air; the other is the softer Charlotte who seems to smile more often. After Charlotte leaves the salon that day, both review the encounter, and memories flood them.

Housewife Therese Karlen has been suffering from insomnia for some time. Overwhelmed by her husband and children, she sets off with pensioner Liselott on a journey of self-discovery to the Bernese Oberland.