Jatgeir has come from the small fishing village of Vaim to the big city on his boat, which he calls Eline. He wants to buy a needle and thread to mend a loose button. Instead, he finds Eline herself--the secret love of his youth, who has recently left her husband--who returns with him to the village.
Fosse's first work since receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, Vaim comes to life through hypnotic prose and mordant wit, unfolding a world of boats, solitary fishermen, love, and death.