A feat of straightforward folksy storytelling, The People of Hemso is set on an island in Strindberg's beloved Stockholm archipelago. Written during a difficult period in exile from Sweden, the novel paradoxically has a strong sense of place. Mrs. Flod, a widow of some means, hires Carlsson to run the farm on the island. As a newcomer and a landlubber among sailors and fishermen, Carlsson is implicitly distrusted by the locals as they try to discern whether Carlsson is a slippery confidence trickster preying on the lonely widow, or an honest, hard-working man revitalizing the neglected farm.