A large Danish provincial town in the year 1888. Headmaster Wang's wife needs recreation, and the kind headmaster sends her and his youngest daughter Emma to Fanø. In his solitude, he delves into his youth memories and invents, among other things, a "Nordic tragedy", which he wrote during his student days and gave the proud title "Erik Ejegod's Pilgrimage". A theatre director encourages the headmaster to have the play performed at the theatre.