A broadly drawn ideological epic set in the summer of 1947 in the borderlands of northern Bohemia: reactionary elements plot to undermine postwar social change while committed local communists struggle to organize workers and defend the emerging order. The narrative follows several archetypal figures—steadfast party activists, wary peasants, and obstructive reactionaries—whose clashes illustrate the claimed inevitability of working-class victory under communist leadership.

Švand, a room painter from Strakonice, begins a dizzying career as a pop music star, but he soon discovers that fame is not the most important thing in life or what he is looking for and what he longs for in life.