Bill August′s adaptation of Selma Lagerlöf′s emigration epic, Jerusalem, is a fateful and magnificent chronicle of love and religious fanaticism. The Ingmarssons have governed their parish for generation when one day Ingmar senior is killed in an accident. The rightful heir, Ingmar Junior, is only 10-years old, and has lost both his inheritance and his estate before reaching adulthood. A preacher named Hellgum arrives in the village one day and wins the villagers′ trust through his teachings and his dream of Jerusalem, a paradise on earth. Faced with the choice between his beloved Gertrud and reclaiming his family estate, Ingmar decides to part from Gertrud. A broken-hearted Gertrud joins Hellgum′s followers on their journey to Jerusalem.