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Antero defends rural relocation to his discontented wife Elviira. While she worries about medical care and village isolation, Antero insists that country air and simplicity offer peace after city life. Elviira remains unconvinced, dreading rural health risks and inconvenient surroundings.
Part 1
Elviira detests manure smells around the homestead, calling rural folk backward and crude. Antero reminds her that farm fertilizer fuels the dough that feeds ungrateful city dwellers. He stands up for his rural ancestors, mocking urban reliance on farm production.
Part 2
Antero reveals why his tailoring business abandoned the city: fashionable clients never paid for their garments, threatening him with bankruptcy. Moving to the countryside forces twenty-year-old Toivo to learn farming instead of idling without a trade. Elviira fears Toivo will dislike agriculture after spending extra days in town.
Part 3
Merchant Räämänen hurtles past the window in his carriage, driving recklessly from the railway station. Antero waves his handkerchief to slow the merchant down and ask about Toivo. Räämänen shouts that Toivo won a bride named Morsian and stayed behind for the freight train.
Part 4
Elviira calls godmother Eufrosyne Modeqvist in town to confirm the sudden news. Modeqvist reveals Toivo needed a special railway car for his bride, convincing the parents that their son secured an extraordinary fortune. The telephone connection crackles as Elviira presses for details about the bride's looks.
Part 5
Static interrupts the call just as Modeqvist describes the bride as smooth-running and entirely red. Antero and Elviira conclude Toivo is bringing home a wealthy, orphaned bride carrying heavy trunks of luggage. They immediately plan a lavish home reception to greet their prospective daughter-in-law.
Part 6
Antero prepares to shave for the grand arrival, but Susanna the maid trips over his finest coat laid across a chair. Susanna complains that sudden housewide haste is driving everyone toward complete confusion. Antero scolds her carelessness while trying to keep his composure.
Part 7
Antero lathers his face, eager to look respectable for his future daughter-in-law. Steward Aapeli arrives after hearing rumors from the passing merchant, ready to receive instructions. Antero double-checks his razor while coordinating the household's preparations.
Part 8
Aapeli recalls Toivo joking about bringing home a large wife. Believing heavy baggage demands transport, Antero dispatches Aapeli with extra horses and heavy carts toward the railway station. Aapeli sets off quickly as Antero re-lathers his drying face soap.
Part 9
Antero frets over a crashing sound in the house, fearing his prized Rebekka sculpture was shattered. Elviira reassures him that the artwork remains intact. Bellringer Mikko Helisevä arrives with his daughter Siviä, interrupting Antero's half-soaped shaving routine.
Part 10
Mikko mocks Antero's soap-covered face and defends his own clerical dignity as bellringer. He insists a church official holds high standing, matching any urban craftsman in honor and right to peace. Antero attempts to defend his tailoring reputation amidst the mockery.
Part 11
Mikko accuses Toivo of pursuing Siviä for two years. Siviä shyly confesses that Toivo declared his love and kissed her, throwing the tailor parents into complete astonishment. Mikko demands honest accountability from the family for his daughter's honor.
Part 12
Siviä admits Toivo asked her to wait for his parents' approval or death. When Elviira dismisses simple country girls, Mikko exposes Elviira's humble crofter ancestry in the local parish. The revelation stuns Elviira and checks her aristocratic vanity.
Part 13
Mikko defends farm-bred health against city vanity before stepping out to calm Siviä. Antero and Elviira find themselves caught half-dressed in complete disorder as telephone lines, household help, and neighbors unravel. They rush to finish dressing before Toivo arrives.
Part 14
Postmistress Eulaalia drops in under the guise of neighborly concern, praising Toivo's suave charm and hand-kissing manners. She probes into rumors of Toivo's reported fiancée. Antero tries to conceal his ignorance while fielding her prying questions.
Part 15
Antero fabricates a story that Elviira left for the post office, tricking Eulaalia into departing. Elviira enters dressed in her finest gown, eager to embrace her imagined rich daughter-in-law. Antero prepares himself for the grand doorstep greeting.
Part 16
Toivo arrives home safely, explaining he was delayed by a costume ball in town. He thanks his parents for their forgiveness and hints at a sudden stroke of fortune. Antero checks his watch, surprised by Toivo's quick arrival from the station.
Part 17
Antero and Elviira demand to see the bride who traveled in the freight car. Toivo reveals that his bride cannot dance and points toward the stable wall outside. The parents step toward the window to investigate the mysterious newcomer.
Part 18
Antero looks outside to find only a red horse hitched to the stable wall. Toivo clarifies that Morsian is a horse he won in a fire brigade raffle with a single ticket. The grand illusion of a wealthy human bride vanishes instantly.
Part 19
Elviira collapses in despair as she envisions village laughter at their expense. Antero turns to Toivo and directly questions his actual feelings for bellringer Mikko's daughter Siviä. Toivo prepares to explain his true romantic intentions.
Part 20
Toivo pledges his love for Siviä and promises to work hard in agriculture. Moved by his sincerity, Antero abandons his endless shaving attempt and embraces their return to honest rural identity. Elviira listens as Toivo proves his commitment to farming.
Part 21
Siviä explains Toivo pledged singlehood until parental blessing, disproving any sinister wishes for their death. Mikko blesses the couple, declaring honest virtue far superior to empty titles. The family tension melts into mutual respect.
Part 22
Elviira grants her heartfelt blessing to the young couple. Mikko agrees that past angry outbursts were merely steam blowing off, leaving only peace and kinship between the families. Toivo and Siviä rejoice in their full family acceptance.
Part 23
Postmistress Eulaalia returns, learns of Toivo's engagement to Siviä, and storms off in romantic disappointment. Toivo jokes that he will ride to his wedding accompanied by his other Morsian, the raffle horse. The household celebrates the double blessing with joyful laughter.
Part 24
A chaotic small-town comedy reveals how misheard rumors and rustic pride transform ordinary family lives.