1197. King Kaloyan ascends the throne in hard times for Bulgaria. The country is still recovering from a century of Byzantine subjugation. He is forced to carry out a very flexible foreign policy in order to strength his positions. Pope Innocent III recognizes him as Emperor (Tsar), but a little later the fourth Crusade crosses the country under Emperor Baldwin. A new conflict is coming. Tsar Kaloyan wages the decisive battle at Adrianople and wins.

Stamen, a civil engineer, gets a new assignment. He has to leave the capital and his friends and go to the construction site of a huge dam. On the train he meets Katya. He thinks she is an actress....

A tenement house needs to have steam heating installed. The residents find the necessary workers to do it, sign the contract and pay them in advance. The workers show up and start their job, but disappear immediately. Panic-stricken, the residents set up to search for them, only to find the workers in jail. Totally desperate, their only chance is to come up with an ingenious plan how to bring the work to the end.

The day that the financial clerk Metodi Rashkov is getting retired comes. He is a shy and quiet man and he accepts all tasks given to him by his son and daughter in law without argument. With time, he becomes a housekeeper; he shops, cooks and looks after his grandson. In order to save his face in front of his friends he lies to them and falls in a number of uncomfortable situations. The "Expolsion" becomes imminent. The reason is insignificant but with great consequences. Rashkov leaves his home. Soon the freedom which he wanted becomes boring for him. The abandoned family begins to miss the grandfather. At the end everyone sees their mistakes and is ready to fix them. The birth of a second grandson is the event which brings everyone under the same roof again.