The miserable and lazy farmer Nils-Erik likes it that his wife Matilda rules and dictates, but cannot come to terms with the fact that she constantly falls for the flattery of their neighbor Valdemar. Their son Lennart has inherited the mother's touchiness and the father's laziness and feels like a failure. Then Nils-Erik gets an idea! But is it wise to involve the local postman Dag-Otto in his plans?.