An adaptation of Oscar Wilde's prose. The story of a child found in the forest, who was taken in by a poor woodcutter's family. The boy grew up to be a handsome but arrogant and selfish young man. One day, a beggar woman arrived in the village claiming to be his real mother. The boy banished her from the village, unable to accept the fact that he was the son of a woman of such low status. With time, however, he realized the cruelty of his actions and decided to find her and ask for forgiveness.

The protagonists of the film are three brothers: Eino, Aho and Laje. The brothers live from the cultivation of the family land. Eino works from dawn to night. Aho likes to spend time playing at a nearby inn. Laje once helps Eino, and once accompanies Aho. Once Aho gets cheated by playing dice and losing his family land. The brothers set off in search of a job. They reach a road fork. Eino wants to go left, Aho to the right, and Laje agrees once with one, once with the other brother. The brothers, unable to convince each other for their reasons, start a great quarrel.

Marta is coming to Warsaw to study. Due to lack of money, she begins to work in a cafe.