An obliging and resourceful peasant made a woodworking machine out of scrap metal bought for two ducks, unaware of the dangers that would await him at every turn. Having become an unwitting swindler, he had to go with the proper documents through many instances, suffering from unscrupulous officials-bureaucrats...

The film shows that Romanian peasants were divided between those opposing and those embracing collectivization. The heated debates between the pro and con camps would ultimately lead to murder.

A metaforic look at the ages of man.

Mitrea Kocor, a young butler, gives up his work in the fields to join Antonescu's Romanian army, which fought alongside Nazi forces during World War II. After spending time in Soviet captivity and a prisoner-of-war camp, he returns to his home village to participate in post-war reconstruction.