Once a naïve, love-struck girl now forsaken by her lover, Maija leaves her island home to work as a housemaid in the city, only to be seduced by her employer's son Erkki, then forced to leave the household in order to avoid the scandal of a pregnancy. With few prospects for a decent job, Maija is reduced to working as a bar hostess to make ends meet, ever fending off the advances of disreputable clients, even as she continues to hold out hope for an enduring love that will redeem her from her fate.