The story of the Dubrovnik landowner Nikša Prokulić, who fiercely opposes romance between his daughter Jela and the Czech officer Marek, member of the Austro-Hungarian army that occupied their city in 1814, after the departure of the French. The story of the final downfall of the Republic of Dubrovnik thus also becomes the story of the agony of an ancient aristocratic family.

Set in Dubrovnik, this drama chronicles a friendship between three men, that began just before World War II. One of the men is of Italian origin, another is the wealthy heir of a shipping fortune, and the third is the son of a Jewish antique-store owner. Before the war, they are fast friends, enjoying one another's company at carnivals and at a private fencing club. However, when the war comes, the Italians and Germans move in to create the Independent State of Croatia. The Italian friend becomes a fascist and courts and marries the sister of his rich friend. Soon enough, atrocities are being committed, and anyone suspected of Jewish or Serbian parentage or anti-fascist leanings, is killed.

As WW2 comes to an end in the former Yugoslavia, a man without an arm and his young son are on a mission. Their goal is to find and kill five members of the fascist militia who had tortured and killed their wife and mother