In a bucolic Polish hamlet, the tense relationship between a father and son reaches a boiling point when the men lose their hearts to the same woman and vie for her affections. Based on Wladyslaw Reymont's Nobel Prize-winning book and helmed by Jan Rybkowski, this theatrical release (starring Krzystof Chamiec, Wladyslaw Hancza and Emilia Krakowska) was culled from a 13-episode miniseries that aired on Polish television in 1972.

March 1945. After crossing the Oder River, one of the Polish Army units heading for Berlin encounters resistance from German defensive formations. After a fierce exchange of fire, a doctor operates on seriously wounded soldiers. Private Józef Łopuch helps him in the field hospital and also serves as a barber. Łopuch, who despite sending over twenty letters has received no reply from his wife Sabina, composes another letter assuring his wife that although war is a nasty business, nothing can happen to him, as he was born in a forge...

Wacław Kaczmarski has been breeding pigeons for many years, which is a family tradition (his grandfather and father bred pigeons before him). The birds are an important part of his life; he spends every free moment with them, and they are his escape from everyday worries. Kaczmarski and his family live in Targówek in old apartments that are scheduled for demolition. He gets a new apartment in Ursynów, where he immediately installs pigeon boxes on the balcony. The neighbors are outraged.

During the 1920 Silesian uprising, seven brothers take part in the struggle with the Germans to keep the region in the Polish hands.

A retired army colonel learns that years ago, during the 1939 September Campaign he was ordered to give medals to the ten bravest soldiers in his company. He asks his son to help him out, so he sets out on a journey to find surviving soldiers and judge if they are worthy of the honor.

A young engineer borrows a suitcase from a friend, not knowing it countains ten thousand dollars inside. Soon after the friend dies in a car crash, and a lighter found at the scene might be key to solving the case.