János Arany was nineteen years old when he left the Reformed College in Debrecen and became a travelling actor. He is stubbornly silent about this period in his memoirs, and he is already over fifty by the time he first puts his acting adventure on paper in his unfinished poem novel, Foolish Gods, calling himself Istók.The film by Gábor Rohonyi and Georgina Hegedűs, starring Ágoston Liber, depicts the lesser-known but all the more adventurous early years of one of the most important figures in Hungarian literature, mixing the story of his growing up with romantic elements and the road movie genre.

Little Árpád steals his father's most precious treasure to give to his beloved as a gift. He tries to cover up his deed, for which he pays a heavy price. It's all in vain, all in vain.