A young girl, Lejla, is a foster child of the boatman and his wife. He spends most of the summer on a "raft" in Christianshavn's canal, from where he rents out boats. But they live in an old house in Overgaden below the water - close to their workplace. At home, the coffee pot hums around the clock, drawing people in. All very different—a frivolous girl, a sailor, an artist, and a bon vivant. Among these people, Lejla undergoes her final development—from girl to woman.