Little Matti, who has been living in the countryside with his grandmother, leaves for Helsinki to search for his missing mother, Kerttu. In the city, he is helped by Taneli, a homeless alcoholic artist, and Salme, a girl who lives with her alcoholic aunt.
A rich widow is found dead in her apartment in Helsinki due to gas poisoning. The incident is initially thought to be an accident, but inspector Palmu notices that the murderer made a mistake, and so Palmu, Kokki and Virta begin the investigation: who had come to the apartment through the balcony...
The new idealistic welfare officer Helmi tries to improve conditions in "Sin Alley," but difficulties arise, particularly with the leader of the petty criminals, Jukka, whose son Reino also drifts into a life of crime.
Lauri and Anna are released from prison. They run into trouble when they cannot find work because of their past. Lauri obtains false identity papers, which enable him to get a job at a factory. A dangerous criminal named Asseri begins blackmailing Lauri, who is using the alias "Pentti Tahvana."...
Erkki, a journalist, suffers from epilepsy and agrees to be sterilized in order to marry his fiancée Helena. Unhappy about his infertility, Erkki begins to drink more and more, and eventually Helena returns to Helsinki to continue her studies. There she meets Associate Professor Sysikorpi, who...
Young woman flies to Lapland together with her father and his new female friend whom the daughter dislikes. On a lonely skiing-trip across the vast wilderness, the young lady ends up in a shack inhabited by two research engineers and a funny old Lapland man who sees peculiar dreams.
While Leena is spending time at a health resort in the countryside, her husband Esa, an accountant, finds himself falling for Kirsti, who works at his office. The breakdown of their marriage also stirs up feelings in their adult children, who begin to question their own ideas about relationships.
The boyish, temperamental chemistry student Elsa Kassel disapproves of her mother and sisters running after men, but when she hears that she's referred to as "ugly Elsa", she takes on a transformation. The new, charming Elsa tests her attractiveness on men and causes confusion all the way to her...
Jalmari, who does odd jobs at the harbor, rescues little Risto from being beaten up by older boys. The child is afraid of his violent foster parents and runs away to kind-hearted Jalmari. His foster mother Miina reports the escape to the Salvation Army, whose lieutenant Sirkka finds the boy in...
The press gets excited about a girl from a fish factory who accidentally wins the Girl of the Week beauty contest and writes an imaginative story about her as a millionaire heiress. Soon, the factory manager's son and socialites who want a share of her publicity are competing for her attention.
Kirsti works as a reception assistant to Dr. Varjo and is secretly clinging to the doctor's son, Eino, who is studying to become an architect. Even though the film reflects early social problems and class jokes, there is no humor about describing everyday life.
