Set in rural Ostrobothnia in 1859, Tuomas Kantola, a farmer, is the only peasant in the village who does not sell his land to Lohikoski's boss Adler, and even starts to annoy him by building a dam to defy the project to drain Lohikoski's lands. During the summer, Harri , a student, and Kantola's daughter Annika fall in love, which is not accepted by either of their fathers or Annika's ex-fiancé Tuomas.