The life of Ryszard Riedel, former leader of cult Polish rock-blues band Dzem, including the history of his family relationships, music career and addiction to alcohol and drugs.
The end of the 1930s. Wilek Lizoń, a true-blue Silesian, together with his troupe of actors and circus performers, stages a play in the courtyards of miners' tenement houses. The main character is Franciszek Buła, a figure from folk tales. Buła's story begins during the Silesian Uprisings. The courtyard artists present vivid images of Frank's school years, his work in the mine, his communist activities, his imprisonment, and his constant poverty. Fantasy mixes with reality.
Warsaw, 1909. Arthur Herling makes an assassination attempt on a Russian police official and his family. During the action, the officer's daughter is killed and his wife is maimed. The wounded militant is arrested. Tormented by remorse, Herling agrees to cooperate with the tsarist authorities as a provocateur. Into his cell comes Adam Tanski, suspected of having contacts with the wanted conspirator Andrzej Woyda. One day, while being transported in a prison ambulance, Herling kills the guards. Accompanying him, Adam urges him to escape to the mountains.
