Traveling clothier salesman Mads Andersen-Skjern arrives in Korsbæk with his little boy Daniel and sees opportunities when faced with the inept draper Albert Arnesen and this small sleepy town where the old families define the pace and virtue. Receiving only haughty condescension from the upper-class, Mads finds local allies in the family of pig trader Oluf Larsen and his wife Kathrine, who has more money than meets the eye.