Erik, a poor inventor meets the clerk Lillemor and fall in love. Erik's becomes invention is ready for the market. He contacts a director who might be interested. Erik is attracted almost immediately by the director's wife.
The farm workers at Näs Farm, lead by Hellman, go on strike, demanding that their employer recognize their labor union. But he calls on strike-breakers to perform the farm work. Hellman's son Gunnar is a hothead who easily gets in trouble.
A journalist is writing a critical article about the prison service in Sweden. The magazine's editor in chief does not agree with him and removes the article. The journalist then plans to fake a crime to gain knowledge about life in prison.
The daughter of a lighthouse keeper runs away with a shipwrecked businessman to the city. But instead of her dreams, she finds herself selling herself in the streets, until a painter finds her as an ideal model for his next painting.
