Eccentric small town librarian Helinä struggles between everyday life and her love for the theatre, directing amateurs for a play by the famous Finnish writer Aleksis Kivi. She still carries the torch for her teenage sweetheart Leo, now a married chimney sweeper but still an aspiring playwright, despite his wife's opinions. Helinä thinks Leo is Aleksis Kivi, and so does Leo himself. Discouraged by the society, they end up in a mental institution but finally manage to stage an outdoor premiere of the play.
Middle-aged municipal architect Mikko is frustrated with his job and his marriage, so for years he has directed his energy into renovating a turn-of-the-century wooden villa on the seaside. One beautiful summer evening Mikko and his wife Liisa invite old friends to a party in the villa: divorced intellectual Erik who gets along a little too well with Liisa; and noisy building contractor Hessu with his young and sexy new wife Pirre. Their increasingly drunken discussions are interrupted by a surprise visit from Mikko's and Liisa's daughter Jonna and her husband Pete. A conflict between the father and the daughter ensues in front of the guests.
