Tonny is a schoolboy in fostercare who serves his first sentence in a jail for adults. We follow him 24 hours before his parole and 48 hours after his release. We get to see his experiences in prison and his relationship with his mother, friends and girlfriend Kari. Just like Bjørneboe's novel, the movie is a critical note to the debate how society took care of youth on the edge during the 50s and 60s.