When it becomes known that the single father and literary critic Anders reviewed his own book, he loses his job and has to work at a car transport yard.

The temporary employment agency "Dream Job" places him at the "Yard", a loading station for cars in the port of Malmö. There his identity becomes a five-digit number - 11811. The migrant colleagues mistrust the Swedish newcomer, the work is monotonous and the conditions are harsh. Gradually Anders loses everything in this environment and his relationship with his teenage son is put to the test.

Based on the celebrated novel of the same name by Kristian Lundberg, Yarden is an non-traditional film about traditional problems of the working class milieu such as class, solidarity and alienation.