In a grim medieval landscape of Sweden, a knight returning from the Crusades encounters a land ravaged by plague and despair. Upon arriving home, he comes across a strange being that personifies death. In an attempt to buy time and seek answers about existence and life after death, the knight challenges death to a game of chess. Each move on the board becomes a metaphor for the eternal struggle between good and evil, faith and doubt.
As the game progresses, the knight and his squire journey through the landscape, encountering a series of characters that represent the different facets of human life: a group of artists in search of meaning, a couple facing adversity with love, and a young woman clinging to her hopes amidst chaos. Through these encounters, profound themes of mortality, the quest for meaning, and the struggle against the inevitable are explored.
The atmosphere of the film is steeped in uncertainty and symbolism, capturing the struggle of humanity with its own existence. Amidst the darkness, flashes of light emerge in moments of love and kindness, challenging the knight's nihilistic perception of life. In the end, the game of chess becomes a mirror to the soul, confronting the characters with their own existential questions.