Brother and sister Kusti and Iti get lost in a forest while picking strawberries and are captured by an evil forest hag. They are made to work for her. The hag has a son called Bumpy whom Iti befriends. When they get a chance to escape, they decide to take Bumpy with them.

The Christmas of 1905 in Vigala is not a peaceful holiday. The manor house has just been pillaged during the peasant's revolt; the air is full of smoke of fire and there is the premonition of inevitable punishment. Bernhard Laipmann is a tenant farmer whose wife is asking him to leave home since her husband keeps drawing the attention of the authorities. Having doubts about leaving, Laipmann is inspired by endeavouring towards freedom and equality and alarmed by the violence of the revolution.