Young woman flies to Lapland together with her father and his new female friend whom the daughter dislikes. On a lonely skiing-trip across the vast wilderness, the young lady ends up in a shack inhabited by two research engineers and a funny old Lapland man who sees peculiar dreams.
The boyish, temperamental chemistry student Elsa Kassel disapproves of her mother and sisters running after men, but when she hears that she's referred to as "ugly Elsa", she takes on a transformation. The new, charming Elsa tests her attractiveness on men and causes confusion all the way to her mother's new groom, Professor Harjula.
The S/S Vellamo heads to Alexandria with Kaarina, the daughter of the ship's owner Hallerman, on board. As Kaarina trades places with the family's housekeeper Marja, first mate Yrjö takes a liking to Marja whom he believes to be miss Hallerman. Meanwhile Kaarina, pretending to be a member of the cleaning staff, starts getting close with lower ranking officer Kalle Aaltonen.
In mid-19th century Finland, Klaus von Rapp marries young Anette Erling. The marriage is full of happiness until Klaus’s deception is exposed and changes everything with catastrophic consequences.