Coachman Lojza Zacpal likes to make up rascally tricks to annoy his older fellow-villagers. The frivolous young man also likes to flirt with girls without really falling in love with them. But Lojza's life is not easy. His mother is gravely ill and his father, a blacksmith, left them for good to live with his lover, widow Jerábková, after a fight with Lojza. His mother dies soon after and Lojza starts looking after the household and his younger brothers and sisters.