Ingrid Bergman stars in her final feature film role—and only collaboration with Ingmar—as an icy concert pianist who reunites with her daughter (Liv Ullman), a dedicated housewife, in Sweden for the first time in seven years. The long-avoided reunion leads to the opening of old wounds and resurfacing of repressed resentments expressed through various activities including: competitive piano playing, guilt-driven gift-giving, Freudian nightmares, and confessional conversations.