On the train to Prague, the bride-to-be Zuzana Vítová accidentally meets the clerk Dr. Karel Jánský. Upon arriving in Prague, it seems that Jánský follows the girl on her way from the station, but it turns out that the two of them have only a common journey. When Zuzana discovers that her fiancé Petr Klika is not at home and that she has lost the keys to his apartment, Dr. Jánský gallantly helps her and keeps her company until deep into the night...

The film, in individual episodes, captures the fate of Bedřich Smetana from 1856 until the end of his life, from his young years until the moment when, exhausted by human and artistic hardship, he sees the fulfillment of his great dream, the opening of the National Theatre.