Esko makes a bet that he will marry the first young woman he encounters. This turns out to be Kirsti, who promptly turns down the proposals. But when she finds about the bet, she agrees to marry him in order to get her revenge.
Set in Southern Finland between 1912 and 1936. Due to his father's drunkenness, high school student Jussi Raala has lost his inheritance, the manor house and the sawmill, to the gunman Lumia. Bitter and vengeful, Jussi decides to get the property back.
Old Virtanen is a respected night watchman at a textile factory and a single father to his daughter Aino, who is about to graduate from high school. The heartless factory owner Kuusela fires Virtanen, who is forced to look for a new job. When Aino, who is in love with the manager's son Veikko, disappears after her graduation party, her father, who has fallen ill with worry, is overcome with despair.
