The sailor Simen has gone on land, now living with his wife Ollevine. He takes in a drunken friend in the house, Baldewin, and helps him find a woman to marry.

Baldevin and Simen become friends while at sea, only to go their separate ways. Many years later, Simen is married to a wealthy widow. When Baldevin arrives in town, Simen seeks to ensure his friend's future by marrying him off to another widow. The fellows try to keep their shady pasts hidden from their lady friends, but the two widows have secrets of their own. When all is finally revealed, the situation is amicably resolved, and the end result is another wedding.