The wild peasant lad, Göndör Sándor, loves Bátki Tercsi, but the heart of the girl burns for the son of the mayor, Feledi Lajos. He is frantic with despair, and Finum Rózsi who is hopelessly in love with Sándor tries to calm him down in vain.

Irene flees her village with circus fisherman Aristid, endures a failed marriage and returns home only to be rejected by her father—who nonetheless raises her daughter Anikó, before they all relocate to town, where Irene remarries wealthy Gustav but remains unhappy without her father and child by her side. When a spiteful caretaker kidnaps Anikó to thwart them, Gustav and the authorities rescue the girl, revealing her grandfather’s true identity and reuniting mother, daughter and father at last.