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.
A newly-married woman becomes frustrated as her husband, a reindeer herder for an Arctic village, spends much of his time away. Desperate for affection, she visits a shaman who offers a potion that makes her irresistibly desirable, with unexpected and deadly results.
Heta, the strong-willed daughter of the Niskavuori family, who is pregnant, marries Akusti, a farmhand, and remains bitter toward Santeria, who broke her heart. Heta and Akusti begin their life together on the modest Muumäki farm, where they are assisted by their loyal maid Siipirikko.
