The roads leading out of the city are closed. There is a curfew. Dead bodies litter the deserted streets. Shops are empty. So are many houses, because their inhabitants fled while they could. Matthew has stayed behind to care for his sick mother, who is suffering from some mysterious illness. One day, the unexpected happens: Matthew's long-lost father, who had left the family, turns up. He wants to get his son out of the town, whose days are numbered.

On March 15, 1848, a young firebrand poet, Sándor Petöfi ignites the Hungarian Revolution with his passionate 'National Song', prompting the Austrians to dispatch a ruthless secret agent to assassinate him and suppress the uprising.