Concertmaster Orasto and his pianist wife Elna hire Maija, who has been treated harshly by life, as their domestic helper. Erkki, the composer son of a noisy family of musicians, falls in love with Maija, but difficulties pile up in the way of the young couple's happiness.
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.
