St.Petersburg, 1830. An arrogant Finnish baron is playing cards with a Russian officer. Needless to say, the Finn wins and the Russian gets extremely annoyed. The situation is not helped by the fact that the baron has been seeing a girl that the Russian officer has also set his eyes on. They decide...
Pipsa catches the theater bug. The schoolgirl becomes obsessed with acting, which causes suffering for the whole family. Pipsa's brother Olli arranges performances for his sister and collects money for a poor war widow.
Ahti Helpi, the pastor of a rural parish who sees himself as both a priest and a soldier, leaves for the front to continue the war. At home, his pregnant wife Lea takes care of their large family as well as the parishioners. They endure the difficult times by believing in God, home, and their...
Story about about a young man who was raised in an orphanage. Kauko goes to Helsinki to work as a store help. The living the big city is not so easy as Kauko expects and not so grand.
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...
Eino, a Karelian soldier wounded in the Winter War, cannot settle into his new home in Häme. He becomes embittered by the poor treatment of evacuees and loses his will to live. Annikki, a hard-working Karelian teacher, helps Eino regain his faith in the future.
Before her death, Anu's mother promises her daughter to the wealthy Junu of Ukonmäki. Anu loves the carpenter Mikko, who, upon hearing of Junu's engagement, leaves for Helsinki. However, Mikko misses Anu and his homeland, to which he returns with modern ideas of factory work and efficiency.
18-year-old orphan Sylvi is unable to refuse the marriage proposal made by her guardian, Aksel. The young wife is unhappy with her elderly husband and loves her childhood friend Viktoria instead. Sylvi sinks into despair when Aksel refuses to grant her a divorce.
Young farmer Paavo's wife dies in childbirth, and their baby soon after. The wife's family claim back the dowry she brought to their marriage, but Paavo has already used most of it for improvements at the farm. Paavo's life starts going downhill as he resorts to drinking.
Young inventor Janne is lonely. He falls in love with beautiful girls, but his feelings are not reciprocated. Heartbreak and failure rob Janne of his will to live.
Waste paper collector Mikko dreams of being a wealthy mining engineer who succeeds in all his business ventures. He is also lucky in love when Clas, a factory owner, charming daughter Aune takes a liking to the charming mining engineer.
Perky student Inkeri 'Iiri' Paappanen and businessman Taavi Takkulainen fall in love during a boat trip, but a misunderstanding at a hotel in Stockholm causes their break-up. Returning to Finland, Inkeri applies to become a governess and gets a job at Taavi's parents' family. Consul General Albert,...
Kilian Melker, heir to a trading house, becomes head of a large enterprise on which the entire future of the financially troubled company depends. He falls in love with Hanna, the daughter of the Niskala family, but marries the wealthy Elisa Karhelin to save his family's fortune.