Jan and Maria become a couple in 1930s Kraków. Jan tries to get a job as an architect but fails. They struggle with poverty and extreme humiliation. Their attempt to survive leads to a desperate crime.

Franek, a petty criminal and gambler, befriends Rysio, who performs inspections of meat plants. Rysio suspects wrongdoings at the slaughterhouse. Franek, despite his age, cannot find a place in life, with nothing achieved and, what's more, still not knowing what to do.

The trials and tribulations of a peasant's life in the 30's, finally overshadowed by the destructiveness of war.