The seamstress Bolette lives in a little village in the countryside. She is unmarried, but in her youth she had a love affair with Peter Enevoldsen, who now is the political leader of the parish. Bolette is a strong and frank woman, who never hesitates to express pungent truths. She finds out that Enevoldsen's son Karl is in love with the housemaid Sophie and has made her pregnant. As Sophie needs financial support Bolette goes straight to Enevoldsen and tells him the whole story. He gets furious and disowns his son. The prominent men in the parish are tired of Bolette's sharp tongue and want to get rid of her. Enevoldsen suggests that they shall try to marry off Bolette with the peddler Morten Madsen, who lives in another parish. When they offer Morten 650 Danish crowns, a pig, a fatted calf and an alarm-clock if he marries Bolette, he accepts. Bolette and Morten find out that they like each other and the wedding day is settled. But Morten now has a bad conscience about taking bribes for marrying Bolette and doesn't know how to solve this.