Susanne is the owner of a model agency in Stockholm. Doris, her most popular model, has an argument with her fiancé, Palle, just before she goes with Susanne to Gothenburg to be photographed in a new collection.

In Gothenburg Doris meets an aging Consul, who sees in her a striking resemblance to his wife, now in a mental hospital. The Consul gratifies Doris's desires for fine clothes and jewelry, and the two spend a strenuously exciting day together, until his daughter arrives and ruthlessly exposes her father's egotism.

Susanne has meanwhile telephoned her ex-lover Henrik and arranged a rendezvous with him. Henrik reluctantly visits her. They make love and are planning to resume their relationship when his wife arrives.

She proves conclusively that Henrik is a weakling. Disillusioned, Susanne returns with Doris to Stockholm, where Doris's fiancé waits.

"Bergman's movies in the '50s tend to lack any real perspective on their obsessive themes; each film looks like a more or less strained effort to find a 'dramatic' solution to the 'problem' of the ideas it contains. Journey Into Autumn tries for irony, but still ends up looking more forced than measured as fashion editor Eva Dahlbeck and model Harriet Andersson dream of reconciliation with former lovers, only to face disillusionment."

"Hard upon the heels of A Lesson in Love, I made Dreams (Journey Into Autumn) for Sandrews Film Company. I had promised the head of the studio, Rune Waldekranz, a comedy, since Sawdust and Tinsel was a resounding fiasco. Viewed superficially, Dreams consists of two additional variations on themes from Sawdust and Tinsel. By this time Harriet [Andersson] and I had terminated our relationship, and we were both feeling quite sad. Our sadness weighs down the film. To be sure, there is an interesting cohesion between the two stories that lead into each other, but Dreams is severely wounded by depression and never did take off."