Ilona, an orphan from the cruel Paksula family, ends up in Helsinki at a children's home for immigrants and from there becomes a foster daughter in the Orpana family, where she begins to sort out the relationship between her war-disabled stepbrother Pentti and his girlfriend Irene.

A stepfather forces Liisa, an orphan girl, to leave her small town and go to Helsinki alone to sell brooms. With the help of a friendly vagrant named Maailman-Petteri and a homeless dog named Musti, Liisa prevents a burglary, and a kind police officer named Rinne and his wife help all the homeless people start a new life.