Tuore ylioppilas Jed ei halua toteuttaa vanhempiensa unelmia. Hän lähtee etsimään itseään ja suuntaa itäsuomalaiseen pikkukaupunkiin, mistä hän löytää ison koiran, omalaatuisen vuokraemännän sekä kaksi tyttöä, vaalean ja sovinnaisen Sallan ja tumman, raisun Lulun.

Jed (19) walks out on his former life, without destination, without explanation, and gets on a train. He ends up by happenstance in a small eastern town in Finland where he soon comes face to face with the daily rigors of independent life. Coping becomes a challenge for him almost to the point of being an obsession. Of all the people in town, Jed seems to constantly run across the prickly and quick-witted Lulu (17). Gradually, without either of them admitting it, their relationship changes from bickering, picking on each other and a battle of wills to friendship, and as can happen, finally to love.