Hungary, 1950s. József Pelikán, who works as a dam keeper on the Danube, meets by chance Zoltán Dániel, an old friend whom he saved from death years before and who is now a powerful politician.
1918. Fábián Bálint is forced to kill humans on the Italian front. At home his sons drown the priest, the lover of their mother, in the river Kraszna. Mrs. Fábián turns insane. Following his arrival home Bálint becomes the liveried coachman of the baron.
Baradla Géza, war criminal, returns after 25 years, with his ex-accomplice, Obrád Simon, to the village where he burned houses with people inside and executed partisans. The ex squad-leader is chased to this place by his "heroic deed" and the memory of his love. Like a maniac, he wants to forgive the village residents for having killed six of his soldiers.
