Paris, France, 1482. Frollo, Chief Justice of benevolent King Louis XI, gets infatuated by the beauty of Esmeralda, a young Romani girl. The hunchback Quasimodo, Frollo's protege and bell-ringer of Notre Dame, lives in peace among the bells in the heights of the immense cathedral until he is involved by the twisted magistrate in his malicious plans to free himself from Esmeralda's alleged spell, which he believes to be the devil's work.

The main character of the film is Paunvere tailor Jorh Adniel Kiir. Two young seamstresses, Juuli and Maali, arrive in Paunvere. At first, Kiir regards them as competitors, but then he establishes friendly relations with them. Kiir marries Juuli, but he is not indifferent to Maali either. The film also follows Kiir's efforts to get his own farm.

The bell ringer at a way station in the French Alps, murders a passing horse trader with a thrown rock and relieves him of his bankroll, in order to bribe the daughter of his only friend, a head injury victim considered the village simpleton, into marrying him, despite her love for a lowly woodsman who is, in turn, being cajoled into marriage by the daughter of the wealthy innkeeper.