This archetypal tale of an authoritarian father oppressing his son is set in the Afrikaner rural heartland of 1950s South Africa. The son labours ceaselessly on the family farm to satisfy his unyielding father. The situation becomes unbearable following an angry confrontation between the two, and the young man heads for the city.
He finds work selling modern farming equipment, and prospers. He meets and marries an attractive young woman, who yearns to be a farmer’s wife. However, the young man has no intention of returning to the farm, as his father has disowned him. When his mother falls ill, it is his wife who leaves for the farm to take care of her. The old man is impressed with his son’s capable wife, but refuses to have anything to do with his son. Ultimately, it is the charm of a little boy that softens the old man’s heart.