Based on a novel by Stijn Streuvels, this film examines the twin difficulties of a woman and her town. The woman returns to the town her father lives in. She is not warmly welcomed by her father or her town because they believe she gives her love and her favors too freely. When she returns, she begins to have multiple affairs, one of which is with a young engineer who is building a bridge into the town. The townspeople are strongly opposed to the bridge and the change it will bring.