On New Year′s Eve 1871 Annelie is born – 15 minutes too late, since her parents had calculated her birth to be exactly at midnight. These 15 minutes will again and again become the girl′s fate. At the age of 16 she misses the horse tramway, an accident occurs, but Annelie survives. She is taken to a hospital with a ruptured appendix, 15 minutes too late, but nonetheless her life can be saved. In her delirium she is haunted by a vision and from then on she is determined always to be on time. She marries the doctor who operated on her and they soon have three children. At the beginning of WW I her husband and two sons are sent to the front and Annelie becomes a nurse for the Red Cross. So, when her husband is dying in the military hospital, she is able to see him one last time before his death. On New Year′s Day 1941 she is all alone, her sons and nephews are in the field. Her only birthday present is a telephone call from her son: he is alive. After the excitement outdoors has quietened, she sits down in an armchair and falls asleep forever.