The Iversen family is on the verge of bankruptcy. When all the family members are fired from their jobs, one after another, when most of the furniture is confiscated , the telephone blocked, the electricity cut off, and when the bailiff wants to sell the house by auction, something has to be done. To solve their economic problems, Charles Iversen, the father of the family, decides to become a conman. To set off his new venture he needs 1500 kroner as a start-up, and goes to a loan shark called Leopold Phieselknast. The moneylender doesn't trust his new customer, and orders a henchman to tail him when he leaves. With raising astonishment the henchman observes the Iversen family accumulating more and more luxuries, without understanding how they can afford it. With their new fortune the family starts climbing the social ladder. They change their family name to Gyldenkål, and move to a deluxe villa in a fashionable district. To be able to pay for the house within one month, they have to swindle one million kroner from somebody. Charles befriends the wealthy financier Blaskenberg, and starts his confidence trick.