Synn�ve lives with her parents at the farm Solbakken on a sunny hill. Thorbj�rn, who lives at Granliden in the shadow of a big mountain, often looks wistfully up to Solbakken. As teenagers they meet and fall in love. Another boy, Knud Nordhaug, is also yearning for Synn�ve. Together with some companions he bullies Thorbj�rn, who knocks them down. When Knud meets Synn�ve's father, he gets him to believe that it is Thorbj�rn who is the bully. Synn�ve's parents forbid her to meet Thorbj�rn henceforth. Some years later Knud proposes to Synn�ve, but is turned down. At Midsummer Eve Thorbj�rn and Synn�ve meet secretly. They renew their love-vows, and Thorbj�rn promises to develop a better reputation in the village. When Thorbj�rn is driving a loaded cart to the town, the wagon breaks down. As the Nordhaug farm is nearby, he goes there to lend a new wagon. Knud sees Thorbj�rn and starts a fight. When Thorbj�rn turns away, Knud stabs a knife in his back. For many weeks Thorbj�rn hovers between life and death. Ultimately he rises from the bed, but as a changed man, open for reconciliation.
