A young girl lives in a nondescript northern village, where her life path is set out for her: marry a lumberjack, have children, spin thread and cook, eventually retire to a cottage and die. But she longs for something else: the woods, the dark woods, and the wolves that dwell inside. Her longing is a sexual one; she dreams about wolves' bodies and tongues. But such longings are taboo and shameful.

She ends up following the usual path. She marries a huntsman, has sex, eventually grows old, all the while bored and wondering: is this it? Is this all there is? At the end, though unclear whether it truly happens or is another dream, she finally sleeps with a wolf and feels happiness for the first time.