The story of Danish soldier and explorer Ludvig Kahlen, who explored and cultivated Denmark's wild Jutland, which now comprises the vast majority of the country, in the mid-18th century.
The poor soldier Ludvig Kahlen arrives in 1755 on the barren Jutland heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself. But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, Frederik De Schinkel, who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king. When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife Ann Barbara and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge. Kahlen does not bow, but stubbornly takes up the unequal battle and now risks both his life, but also the bond with the small, troubled family that has arisen around him on the heath.
In 1755, Captain Ludvig Kahlen, a once-impoverished Danish officer who had served in the German Army for 25 years, retires with a meager pension. Seeking a new life, he petitions the Royal Danish Court for permission to establish a farm on the barren moorland of Jutland. In return for his effort to cultivate the land, he asks for the privilege of a noble title and a manor. Upon arriving at the site, Kahlen finds himself in conflict with Frederik Schinkel, a ruthless local magistrate and landowner determined to monopolize the moorland.
Schinkel attempts to undermine Kahlen by preventing him from obtaining workers, but Kahlen secretly employs Johannes Eriksen and his wife Ann Barbara, two indentured serfs who fled Schinkel's oppressive rule. Kahlen also hires a group of Romani travelers, known as the "Tatere," despite the practice being illegal. Meanwhile, Schinkel's cousin Edel Helene, who is betrothed to him, shows no interest in marrying him, though her father insists on the match due to Schinkel's wealth, unless she can find an alternative suitor within the year.
At a harvest ball, Edel and Kahlen meet in secret and share a kiss, agreeing that if Kahlen can secure a noble title within the year, they will marry, thus freeing Edel from her forced union with Schinkel. However, during the party, Schinkel discovers that Johannes has escaped again while trying to procure clay for Kahlen's farm. Enraged, Schinkel tortures Johannes to death in front of the horrified guests by boiling him alive. Kahlen retrieves the body and returns home, but the gruesome scene causes the Romani workers to leave in disgust. Only Anmai, a Romani girl, stays behind. As the winter proves harsh, Kahlen, Ann, and Anmai work tirelessly to plant and harvest potatoes, forming an unconventional family. During this time, Kahlen and Ann begin a romantic relationship.
Kahlen's efforts bear fruit when the King, upon hearing of the successful harvest, orders the establishment of a settlement on Kahlen's land. Kahlen is granted the title of Royal Surveyor, and 50 German settlers are sent to cultivate the land. However, the settlers, steeped in superstition, are repelled by Anmai's presence, and she keeps to the shadows, learning to read and study surveying from Kahlen.
Furious at Kahlen's success, Schinkel retaliates by sending convicts to attack the new settlement, resulting in the deaths of two settlers and the loss of half the livestock. In response, Kahlen and a few settlers launch an attack on the convicts, killing them in their hideout. However, Kahlen is forced to send Anmai away to protect her, and Ann, devastated by the events, leaves him as well. Schinkel's officer, Preisler, witnesses the killings and flees, but Schinkel, alongside other estate owners, reports the incident to the king. The settlement is confiscated from Kahlen and given to Schinkel, and Kahlen is arrested.
While Kahlen is tortured at Schinkel's estate, Ann, determined to free him, sneaks in with a poisoned drink for Schinkel. Edel, having grown tired of her cousin's cruelty, conspires with Ann to poison Schinkel. As he succumbs to the poison, Ann stabs him and castrates him. Bondo, Schinkel's loyal butler, reveals the truth to the king's cabinet. Kahlen is released, Ann is sentenced to life imprisonment, and Edel returns to her family in Norway.
Years later, Kahlen receives word that he has been granted the title of baron and that 400 new settlers are on their way. However, Anmai, now a young woman, leaves with a group of Romani travelers. Kahlen, disillusioned by the life he has built, abandons the moorland, and his title is annulled. He eventually finds Ann in a traveling prison cart and frees her. Together, they ride toward the sea, leaving behind the turbulent past.
