Based upon the popular folk song, the film tells the story of two men who want to test the new Sheriff, who has new policies to put in place.
Set in rural Ostrobothnia in 1859, Tuomas Kantola, a farmer, is the only peasant in the village who does not sell his land to Lohikoski's boss Adler, and even starts to annoy him by building a dam to defy the project to drain Lohikoski's lands. During the summer, Harri , a student, and Kantola's daughter Annika fall in love, which is not accepted by either of their fathers or Annika's ex-fiancé Tuomas.
Yrjänä's farm is plagued by infertility and the lady of the house decides to get a child by any means to continue her famous family. She's in conflict with her husband and with the church.
