With much hard work and effort, the Lechner farmer has built a substantial estate. As a wealthy landowner, he trusts that his son Jakob, a trained farmer, will continue to run the farm in his spirit. However, Jakob is an idealistic young man who does not share his father's ideas. The plan to marry him to Anni, the daughter of the wealthy Mayor Huber, is also met with little enthusiasm by Jakob, especially since he has fallen in love with the young and pretty dairymaid Liesl, whom he recently met on the mountain pasture. However, a penniless maid is not considered appropriate as a daughter-in-law by the strict patriarch. A serious argument ensues between Jakob and his father...