A historical film based on the struggle of the Montenegrins for their independence.

Lado Tajovic, a student, is charged by the communist party to go to his home in the Montenegrin Mountains, to illegally spread the liberation movement's propaganda. Alone, surrounded by enemies, always awake and ready to evade traps and ambushes, Lado fights on the verge of sleep, against people which are cowards ready to betrayal. He fights his own temptations, hallucinations that constantly besiege him. Although he perseveres in holding to party directives: no killing and no revenge, Lado at one moment of weakness falls to a primal human act vengeance.

Slavica, Marin and a group of operants hide the newly built ship from the Italian occupation forces. They end up arrested, but the partisans rescue them and they take part in the string of actions.

The film has two stories. Story 1: A group f partisans, fighting against the enemy and harsh winter storm, comes to the village where locals are hostile to them. Story 2: One night during the war, a daughter of railway station chief helps the wounded partisan commander to escape; however Germans discover her deeds, and kill her.