Overworked industrialist Daniel escapes the hustle and bustle of high society to his old workplace at the Akkakoski log floating site. Working under a pseudonym, he befriends Moterni-Jaska, the oldest member of the loggers' group. His daughter Elisabeth follows in her father's footsteps by signing up as a camp cook and soon finds herself falling for Kari, the foreman.
Amanda and her cousin Eliisa run a food stall for the loggers, despite the crooked landowner Remander. Verneri, a street vendor from Karelia, and Olavi, who pretends to be a vagrant, turn the women's heads. When university student Oswald arrives in town, long-buried secrets begin to surface.
Masa, a drifter, meets Pikku-Aleksi, whose wife Jenny has just left him penniless on the side of the road. In their search for food, the friends end up at an army barracks, where Masa is mistaken for Major Pikkarainen, who has come for an inspection.
