During the spring harvest, a strange man arrives in the village on the shores of Lake Pielinen, carrying a rifle and a backpack. He is a skilled worker, a ruthless talker, and a ladies' man. By the time the autumn snow falls, the village has changed. No one can quite figure out the man. He calls himself Simpauttaja. Based on Heikki Turunen's award-winning debut novel, the film is a tragicomic portrayal of rural change.

Young advertising executive Vatanen suddenly quits his job and his whole life in Helsinki, and decides to spend a while in the Finnish wilderness. A wounded hare hit by a car becomes his travel companion. Together they find reclusion in the Finnish Lapland, soon to be disturbed by a noisy group of foreign tourists and their pretentious Finnish hosts. When the hare gets ill and needs to see a vet, Vatanen must return to the city and finally face the choice between his new and former life

In the punk rock era of the late 1970s three restless teenagers, two boys and a girl, spend their time in and out of a special class for problem kids. Jussi seldom sees his parents at home, so he is free to indulge in petty crimes, pranks, and getting drunk with his friend Pete. Jussi falls in love with equally rebellious classmate Lissu (Aki Kaurismäki's favourite actress Kati Outinen in her debut role), but the lovers' plan to run away together fails dramatically.

Olavi Koskela, a ladies' man, joins the loggers. As a log driver, Olavi travels from place to place, seducing one girl after another and then abandoning them. Only Kyllikki, the daughter of a wealthy family, is able to resist his advances and incites him to challenge another log driver to a race down the rapids. Through Kyllikki, Olavi is forced to face the consequences of his actions and reflect on the meaninglessness of his life.

Uuno Turhapuro has lost his memory and thinks he's a woman. His friend Sörsselssön has lost his memory too and Härski Hartikainen tries to help them.

Uuno Turhapuro hits his head and loses his memory. Meanwhile, his friend Härski Hartikainen founds a new peace movement with unorthodox methods.