The film follows a year in the life of Conrad and Louise Bapst and their children and grandchildren. In the summer a part of the family leaves home to climb to the mountain pastures where, in three months, they change residence five times and rent various mountain cowsheds between 1200 and 1700 m high, always following the herd. They produce the famous gruyere cheese with a method that is 300 years old. On the farm in the valley the rest of the family attend to the harvest, haymaking and the sale of cheese which pays for the cost of the pasture land. They take part in the social life and religious feasts and do not neglet politics either, such as going to the polls in winter.