After 1945, land reform forces Old Kraske to become an agricultural worker, but he continues to work on his own, flatly refusing to join any collective farming activities. He desperately wants a large-scale farm like Kimpel's in order to pass it on to his adored grandson, Tinko. When Kraske's son Ernst returns from a POW camp and gives his support to the new communal project, tensions arise within the family and little Tinko is caught in the middle.