In 1848 Poland, Kacper Wosinski is cursed by his wife Maryna on her deathbed. Her evil spirit then haunts him in the form of a she-wolf.
When a political decision is made as to the location of a new large chemical factory, Stefan Bednarz is put in charge of it. This honest communist party man has to confront the local community opposing the construction.
The protagonist of the film is Józek Mikuła, a "peasant worker" who runs a small farm with his mother and makes a living as a truck driver at a nearby cement plant. When one day he wins a million in a toto-lottery, news of his unexpected fortune spreads rapidly through the village. Józek decides to invest the money wisely: he buys more land, renovates farm buildings, brings in machinery. He has a gesture - he funds the village with a color TV, which he installs in the clubhouse. But neighbors are stung by Józek's unexpected wealth.
