The story of Per Sidenius, the "victim" of a strict upbringing in rural western Denmark, by his pietistic hard line preacher father in the pre-industrial era, around the turn of the 20th century.
His constant struggles between his father's preachings of restraint and piety and his own ambitions of conquering the new world, with his visionary plan for changing the landscapes with clever drainage and large scale rural transformation.
Always in conflict with his past, he takes on the posh Copenhagen elite and seeks funding and support for his grandkids plans; but with his brutish rural ways, it's a constant struggle.
He finds his way into a wealthy Jewish family and finds himself torn between two very different daughters. Women, ambition, the past, and money, Lucky-Per (Fortunate-Per) is a gripping tale of an upstart taking on the ruling class in early modern northern Europe.