1944. A band of runaways and orphans of the war scour the countryside in search of food and shelter. They invade and then taken in by a musician and former concert pianist who’s hiding out in a ruined castle. After the initial altercation between them the gang accepts his guidance and he wins their respect by protecting them from the elements.
Prof. Laurent Akush from the Institute of Geophysics is working on a device that can be used to locate coal underground. For successful work he needs a tube XCX13, it is available in the West, but foreign firms sabotage the supply of the device. In his institute there is an enemy engaged in sabotage, but the professor does not believe in enemies. He believes that this is propaganda, science is above ideology, and that "scientists are made of a different dough." Laurent Akush receives an invitation to the international geological congress in Berlin, there he hopes to meet an old American friend, the scientist McLane. He takes with him his assistant Ferenc Ervish and a young Stakhanovite worker, Ishvan Kadosh. The professor does not yet know that in Berlin, Colonel Thompson of American intelligence is preparing a trap for him.
The subject of this film is Dr. Ivan Egry, a young man, who becomes infatuated with Edit Ralben, the beautiful, but flirtatious, daughter of a prominent man. As the two get involved romantically, problems start to plague their relationship. When they end up separating, Ivan finds comfort with Josza, a pretty girl, much more stable than Edit, but far less glamorous. When Edit eventually re-enters Ivan’s life, he can’t resist her. Unable to resolve his conflicting emotions results in an abruptly tragic finale.
