Britt-Marie has spent 40 years as a housewife to her entrepreneur husband, Kent. Britt-Marie is very set in her ways, especially regarding her dependence on baking soda as a cleaning cure-all, her love of balconies, and her fixation on lists. She fears death.

At the age of 63, she leaves Kent and seeks work at the unemployment office. After being told there were few jobs available that don’t require training, she insistently makes another appointment with the case worker for the following day. Afterward, she buys her dinner and ruminates on her marriage in her hotel as she instinctively waits for Kent to return.

Britt-Marie returns to the unemployment office, interrupting a staff meeting to demand a job. Britt-Marie sees soccer stickers on the case worker’s door and is reminded simultaneously that Kent loves soccer, and she hates it. She also recalls a news article about a woman who lived alone and had died suddenly; her body hadn’t been found for weeks.

Later, the case worker finds Britt-Marie waiting for her. Britt-Marie insists on making another appointment with the woman regarding her employment. The staff try to dissuade her, citing a busy schedule and the office closing at five o’clock, but Britt-Marie decides on a six o’clock dinner meeting.