At the beginning of the film Hannes is experiencing the pain of his last day at work, aged 67 and after 37 years as a school caretaker and before that as a fisherman living in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. The 1973 volcanic eruption of Eldfell forced him to move the family to the mainland. Retirement does not come easy and it's clear that for some time Hannes has become estranged from his wife and family. On a topical note, his daughter Telma has just been promoted as a loans manager in a bank - to the disgust of her father. His son Ari is divorced, but usually has his small son in tow. Most long-suffering is Anna, the matriarch of the family. Who's really loved by her husband, but when her children are around she has to suffer his intolerance and volatile moods. After nearly sinking in his old fishing boat, Hannes begins to soften and he and Anna have a rapprochement - which is almost immediately halted by tragedy when Anna has a very severe stroke.What follows is a deeply moving study of how Hannes comes to terms with what life has given him: to take care of wife at home instead of in a nursing home. The 'volcano' is actually Hannes himself, a seemingly cold and gray man with his emotions in tumult within about to erupt.