A girl is transformed into a maple tree by her impulsive and angry mother. Three poor wandering musicians come by the tree and create instruments from it. Walking around the country instead of happiness they bring death everywhere with their cursed instruments. However they cannot get rid of them, unless they bury the wooden instruments at the place of the tree. The three are anything but harmonious, each taking in their disputes various stances.

Lovely overview of traditional Slovak Christmas.

Slovakian villagers towards the end of WW II are despairing as German troops fall back to their village.

A sensitive and modest girl gets married and lives with her family in the mountains. After her husband leaves for the army, she finds herself isolated by her family and her surroundings. The father-in-law perceives the bride's sadness and tries to establish a more cordial relationship with the lonely girl. This, however, gives rise to speculation about the bride's moral failure. She cannot bear the shame of suspicion and throws herself under the wheels of the locomotive. The blame for the death of a frail, honest man lies with those who acted on unverified assumptions of passion and suspicion.