In Seamen's Wives Lennart Johnsson and Leif Hansson, the photographer, provide a woman's eye view of a mainly male industry. Seamen's wives, mostly from the Philippines, talk about their lives today. These women describe a life that is filled with responsibility for their family's economy, home and children, but also a life of loneliness, worrying and longing for the men who sail on ships that are often thousands of kilometres from the Philippines. There are also flashbacks to the daily life of Swedish seamen's wives 40–50 years ago.

Lennart Johnsson has previously written several books about the situation in the Philippines, such as Human beings as commodities, Philippine daily life, from play school to politics and Philippines – Heaven or Hell?. His other writings include Funny Flags, Antwerp sailor and Union on the sevel seas and he has contributed to several anthologies.
Leif Hansson has worked as a photographer for more than 30 years, and has been active in all parts of the world. During his journeys, he has visited and documented life in over 100 countries. In recent years, he has done documentary journeys to Haiti, Thailand and Croatia.