In the village Karrild, the Countess Sonia Hardenborg and a young unmarried woman, Marta, give birth to a daughter on the same day. Marta dies after birth, so Marta's daughter, Betina, come under the care of the countess. 17 years later, Betina and Countess Sonia's daughter, Maria, meet, as Betina is living in a home for orphaned girls, which is adjacent to the Hardenborg estate. The two girls become friends, and Maria invites Betina to visit her at Hardenborg, to greet her parents Sonia and Otto Hardenborg and her brother Count Flemming. Meanwhile, Betina's father, Frank Jensen, starts working in the estate's woods, and when the two girls come to visit him, he is shocked by the resemblance between the young countess and Betina's mother Marta.
In the small idyllic town Randrup, lives on nature-loving and friendly thatcher Rasmus Thomsen (Oswald Helmuth). In addition to refurbish people's roofs, he runs a small "geschæft" that "The wise man". Son Ulf (Frits Helmuth), which reads the doctor's home on leave before the final exam in Copenhagen. Rasmus' big dream has always been that Ulf had to be "real doctor" and achieve what he always wanted so dearly. By thrift and income have gained through the many patients who seek Him from far and near, he has been able to afford his son's studies. His reputation as a wise man has knowledge of.
Helga is on a farm, where she is seduced by her husband, Per Mortensen. As it turns out she is with child, she gets a tough time among local residents. They consider it the greatest shame that can befall a young, unmarried girl. Per refuses bargain to be the father of the child. Her parents can not afford to keep the baby, so she tries to go to court - without result. Fortunately, she gets a new duty station at Torpegaarden where she thrives. In particular, she has a good eye to his son on the farm, Gudmund. He also liked the young girl
