Tamás is a talented cartoonist, who, however, does not exhibit, but is forced by the police to work as a phantom painter. His talent solves some crimes. Now he is confronted to sketch a serial rapist.

The story takes place at the time of the defeat of the Hungarian War of Independence, when Csákberény came under the terror of the imperial soldiers. Two priests from the village are arrested overnight for reading the Hungarian Declaration of Independence. Although the Austrian soldiers enjoy their power, they are unable to identify with the repression. The purpose of the trial of a military imprisonment court is to obtain a confession, to prove that a violation of sovereignty has been committed.