The principal couple, Bertil and Ruth, travel home by train to Sweden from Switzerland, at each other’s throats the whole way. Meanwhile, in Stockholm, Bertil’s former lover, Viola, tries to evade the predatory advances of her psychiatrist, and then of a ballet dancer who was once Ruth’s friend.

After Prison, Bergman made another film in 1949. This psychological chronicle of a fading relationship is based on a collection of short stories by Birgit Tengroth, who stars in the film and assisted the Swedish auteur in portraying the lesbian episode—part of which was cut by censors.