The prodigal Zdeněk enters the office of the "Homeless shelter" where Mr Morel exhorts him to make a new start in life. Zdeněk decides to go off to live with the Gypsies who are passing by. They have camped on land belonging to an old lady who lives there with her daughter, Zornička, whose father was a Gypsy. Zornička falls in love with Zdeněk, whom the Gypsy girl Gerta hopes to win for herself. After a scandal at a dance, Zornička gloomily chooses to marry the family friend Morel. She becomes a mother but is unhappy. She receives a letter from Zdeněk who has returned home and does not know she is married. Zornička seeks advice from the homeless office, where Morel overhears the whole conversation. He begins to suspect the child is not his and attempts suicide. In desperation Zornička takes the child and jumps into the river with it. The Gypsy Martička sees her and calls for help. Mother and child are saved. Morel has only injured himself with a gunshot and will recover. Zornička realises how much her husband loves him and that he deserves her complete love. (According to promotional material issued at the time the film was made.)
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