Young and innocent maid Elina is persuaded into forgetting her childhood sweetheart Uolevi, and to marry Klaus Kurki, a local nobleman with money and influence. An ideal match according to her family and the greedy parish priest, but all is not as it seems: Kurki is a vicious man, tormented by the spirit of his last wife.

Without knowing about each other, bachelors Salomon, Arvi, and Martti each hire a domestic helper for their shared apartment. The job goes to the energetic professional Manta and the modern young women Helvi and Aili, who are looking for a position to prove their point about the issue of domestic service.

Eero Luotola is a pilot operating in Kalliosaari, whose crush is Annikki, who lives in the same village. They have known each other since childhood and have promised to get married at some point.

In 1916, Finland is still a part of Russian Empire. Eugen Schauman murders the governor of Finland, and his fellow activists take on smaller tasks in the fight for freedom.

The tarragon regiment moving to the small town charms the women of the locality. Only trade counsellor Ottilia Mähönen considers them brutal barbarians and is horrified when her daughter Irja gives her room to cavalry master Osmo Kyrö who needs accommodation.

Taavetti, the young master of Rantasuo, refuses to give up, even though frost destroys his harvest, a crooked logger steals his forest money, and a dishonest bailiff takes away his freedom. The innocent Taavetti is sent to prison, and the indebted Rantasuo farm is put up for auction. The determined swamp clearer fights for his life, his loved ones, and his land.