In seven parts, the story is told of Sil the beachcomber, who finds a little Swedish girl after a shipwreck. After many difficulties, Sil is finally allowed to take on little Lobke. Fourteen years later she falls in love with her stepbrother Wietse, but after an argument with his father about beachcombing, he leaves for the sea. Lobke stays behind with the family where conflicts are the order of the day. When those problems have reached a peak, Lobke's beloved Wietse returns and the story takes an unexpected turn.