Set in Prague during the years leading up to World War II, this family saga tells the story of a cobbler named Vincenc Bursik (Vladimir Mensik), who uproots his clan from the country to the city, only to suffer the loss of his wife and the failure of his shoe business within months. When his daughter moves away to go live with a wealthy businessman as his mistress, Vincenc is left to take care of his two sons, who spend their days in a secret garden vying for the affections of a teenage girl.

The Mráz family is preparing for holidays. Parents are traveling to the spa and little Petr is going to the country to his grandparents. In addition, to the chaotic preparations, mother's friend is bringing a dog Blek. She wants Petr to look after it. Grandfather welcomes Petr and the dog with pleasure because he needs the ally against strict grandmother. Grandfather is not very skillful and thus grandmother often experiences troubles with his ideas.

The story of a man who bought a cannon during the anti-German mobilisation and then hid with it in a wine cellar for the whole war.

Jitka, a librarian, is tasked with replacing an injured seventh-grade teacher at an elementary school. Despite her husband's resistance, she faces marital tensions, a dysfunctional classroom, and disgruntled parents. When a minor dereliction of duty leads to tragedy, she seeks help.

Three friends - Tomás, Hubert and Jozka - are boys growing up in a little town. Tomás lives with his aunt Apolena and uncle Václav. Tomás is a boy with lots of ideas that often end up getting him into trouble not only with his teachers and aunt, but with the other inhabitants of the town as well. He has a crush on his schoolmate Blanka and for her sake he decides to try to get the prize for the best pupil in the school.

Sudetenland, May 1945. A group of retreating German soldiers capture a group of young female workers, totally deployed in a chemical factory. He wants to use them as hostages during his advance to the American demarcation line. Together with them, they take refuge in a nearby castle, which soon becomes the site of the last battle that takes place both in the minds and in the backdrop of war-torn Czechoslovakia, shortly before liberation. A psychological probe as well as an intimate drama set within the walls of a small castle, it is a mosaic of mini-stories charting the fates, attitudes and thought processes of individual characters on both sides of the barricade.

The construction of a gigantic facility such as the Dukovany nuclear power plant requires only the most capable experts. Such is the engineer Hlaváč, who has been involved in the project from the very beginning as a construction manager. He has to deal with many problems, especially the lack of manpower. He is unfairly demoted to a lower position due to the intrigues of his subordinates and the alibi of the management, but time proves him right and by the time the plant is inaugurated, he is once again the main manager. But the demanding job takes its toll, his heart cannot withstand the frantic pace of work...