When bored American billionaire Charles Vanel is amused by the happiness of poor railroad man Nicolas Koline, he offers him a wager: if Koline and his family can spend 20,000 francs a day (about $11,000 in current American money) for a year, then he'll give him a nice pension. The rest of the movie is about the poor man and his family's efforts to win the bet.

A look at various lives, one of which is Jewish girl Hanne Liebe, as she grows up and experiences the pains of living as a Jew in Russia, leading to a revolution.

Bulba's younger son Andry has fallen in love with Panochka since meeting her at the seminary in Kyiv. She is the daughter of the Polish provincial governor. Andry dreams of her and flees from school through a window to his beloved, climbs up a tree in front of her house and slips down the chimney into the house.