It is the summer of 1941. An eastern-Finnish machine gun company receives an order to turn in their surplus equipment. The company is transferred to the front lines. The next morning the soldiers wake to the sound of guns – the war has begun.
Young Affu sets off to travel around the summer countryside, hoping to find himself a bride. He carries with him an engagement scarf given to him by his mother, which he promises to the farmer's daughter Milda, until he meets the mysterious gypsy girl Marketa.
Matti and Liisa are two farmers who become curious to see the first railroads in Lapinlahti, Finland.
