Film chronicles a decade in the life of a young physics student whose absolute faith in the primacy of rationality and science is shaken by tragedy and affairs of the heart.
Disguised as an Italian medic, Dolas finds himself on a ship evacuating wounded Axis soldiers to Italy. He leaves the ship disguised as a Nazi soldier, but is found out, declared a deserter and sent to the Eastern Front. However, on the flight to Russia, he is able to escape with a parachute, and finds himself back in Poland, now occupied by Nazis.
At the end of the 19th century, somewhere in the outskirts of the Russian Empire, a doctor administers a lethal overdose of ether to a young woman – the object of his desire. After getting away with his crime, he finds employment in a fortress, where he continues his experiments with ether to manage pain and manipulate human behaviour. Despite his evilness, it is not too late for his soul to be saved from eternal damnation…
