This is the third part of Kaurismäki’s “working-class trilogy”, made after Shadows in Paradise (Varjoja paratiisissa, 1986) and film Ariel (1988). The main character is Iiris, an assembly line worker in a match factory who lives with her strict and cold parents. Her drab routine is interrupted by a new red dress and a short romance. But after she gets hurt and becomes hopeless again, she decides it is time for revenge.