Count Wrangel’s daughter Polly and the forest warden’s son Søren are best friends and quite inseparable. As they mature beyond the carefree days of childhood, their disparity in rank and status looms larger between them, and Søren puts aside his dreams of sharing the rest of his life with Polly. Instead, he meets a dancer, Stella, who moves with him when he himself is employed as a forest warden at Wrangelsborg, the count’s estate. The solitude of the forest is a far cry from the bright lights and gaudy spectacle of the theatre, and when Stella meets some acquaintances from her old life, she is torn between who she really is and who her loved one thinks she should be. At the same time, Polly discovers that her feelings for Søren are more than friendly.