Hilma Salo

Katri is hired as a maid in Ruuhiniemi. Over the years, she works hard and even dares to dream of love and being the owner of the farm, but the scheming in the division of the inheritance complicate the future.

A story set over one night in a small rural community we watch various relationships and actions among local people; these include birth, death, and conflicts fuelled by alcohol. The fates of various characters become interlaced over a long and light-filled summer night in the Finnish countryside. Lumberjacks, a deer-eyed young man Nokia, a family of poor farmers, a young girl and her lover. New life is born, old life dies, man is slain in his prime, and his widow continues her life.

Little Matti, who has been living in the countryside with his grandmother, leaves for Helsinki to search for his missing mother, Kerttu. In the city, he is helped by Taneli, a homeless alcoholic artist, and Salme, a girl who lives with her alcoholic aunt.