"Shetlandsgjengen", which translates as "the Shetland-gang", relates the true story of the illegal traffic across the North Sea from German occupied Norway to Shetland during World War II. A small group of Norwegian sailors loosely connected to the British navy take refugees from Norway to Shetland in small fishing-boats, equipped only with low-caliber weapons to protect themselves from German airplanes and patrol-boats. The film is closely based on real events, and many of the members of the gang, including the leader, called "Shetlands-Larsen" play themselves.