Juhani, 14 years old and tormented by a childhood trauma, has changed several foster parents from the age of eight. He is taken to an island, where there is a boys' home, run by a strict superintendent, Olavi Harjula. Besides the seven boys that dwell there, there is the superintendent, his wife, his two daughters and a woman for menial help. Juhani is gradually accepted by his peers and strikes a friendship with the eldest daughter. When Harjula is advised that funding will stop for his school due to his harsh methods, he decides to start a silkworm project for self-funding. All the boys agree to stay and help him, apart from Juhani, who expects to go back to his family that wants him back.