A film about family secrets... and deathbed confessions.

Mr Markurell the innkeeper has great aspirations for his son and he doesn't hesitate to pull a few strings to ensure his son's success at school, causing great scandal in the process.

The young Count Per falls in love with the gypsy Elina. The old Count Nils opposes the relationship and a serious conflict arises.

Mary and Georg love each other, but he is rejected by Mary's father who has suffered insecurity and sees his rescue in marrying Mary with the rich shipowner Harry Gordon.

Based on the poems by finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, the movie centers on the Finnish War between Russia and Sweden in 1808.