Niels Pind is a drunkard who is exploited by some of the town's residents. This comes to an end when his son, Jens, returns from America with a lot of money. Jens buys the local estate and starts extracting gravel from the ground. He quickly gains a bad reputation in the area because he only thinks about money. Niels Pind disowns his son. However, Jens changes as he falls more and more in love with Ingrid.