A romantic comedy about a writer coming back to Finland is bored with the High Society life and starts a modeling job for a young and beautiful painter Ilona. Dressed as a vagabond, he soon starts to please Ilona and her many lady friends as shows quick learning skills and soon shows great knowledge of history, art, and literature.
Set in North Karelia, whne Antti Ihalainen's house runs out of matches, he goes to borrow some from a neighbor. On the road, he meets a rich widower, Jussi Vatanen, who asks Ihalai to be his speaker and friend on an engagement trip to the city of Jo. The hosts from Lieper are snorting drunkenly from behind their shoulders.
In 1850s Southern Ostrobothnia, the new county police chief angers the peasants with his arrogance, dishonesty and violent methods. Jussi, a young farmer, dares to stand up to the police chief. His courage makes on impression on the maidservant Liisa.
Alfred Haaravirta's worries begin, when his longtime housekeeper dies. So Alfred sends a letter to his old friend Matilda and asks her to be his new housekeeper. But Matilda misunderstands the letter to be a proposal of marriage.