Peter Vipperup is a tailor in a small provincial town. He has to work hard to make ends meet for himself and his family. One fine day, Vipperup's brother, Andres, returns home from America. He is a completely different type than the little Lapp tailor, and he has had good luck on the other side of the Atlantic. A few cunning minds in town have seen through Andres' wealth and devise a plan to secure a share of the wealth by appointing the tailor as director of a newly started bank - and then exploiting his naivety.