In 1906, a poor farmer in the backwoods of Finland -- then part of Russia -- struggles to make a living for his wife and four children. He hears about a new law that will allow equal voting rights to all citizens, rich and poor, men and women. He attends a Socialist meeting and starts believing that everything will turn better after the upcoming election. Instead, things only get worse for him and his wife after the election day. They start blaming themselves, believing that their tragedies are God's way of punishing them for voting the Socialists.