Friends and college classmates Petr and Mirek meet Katka, a student at the art academy. Petr falls in love with the charming painter, but Katka ultimately chooses Mirek. Their brief romantic relationship is interrupted by an argument and Mirek's internship abroad. Petr uses this as an opportunity to offer Katka a family and emotional foundation. After some time, when the two are living together in one house with her parents and Petr is patiently enduring the hardships of dependent cohabitation, Mirek suddenly returns from abroad. His unexpected visit only confirms Katka's belief that her marriage to Petr and her unsuccessful attempts to conceive a child are not fulfilling her.

On the eve of Christmas, successful expatriate Karel returns to his quiet mountain village, and suddenly every marriageable girl in town vies for his hand, even storming his cottage. Determined to avoid marriage and instead sell the family farm and leave with his younger brother, he sets his would-be brides impossible tasks, and the very first challenge whittles the contenders down to just one: his stepsister Květa.