In the windswept heathland around 1900, the poor Helga leaves her home to work on a farm. Here she is seduced by the gentleman and pregnant with his child. He refuses to acknowledge paternity, and expelled from the local community, Helga now has to fight alone to stay alive. In times of need, she gets a place at Torpegård, where Gudmund lives with his old mother. His fiancé, however, is anything but enthusiastic about Helga's presence.
