The film tells the story of a young village girl who leaves home for a factory during World War II, lured by promises of easy money and a good life. Soon after arriving at the factory, however, she realizes that all the promises were lies, but Danka will not give in to discouragement. After the liberation of Bulgaria by the Soviet Army, she happily went to work with the other workers in the factory, which now belonged to the people.

The film is dedicated to the uprising, which broke out in Bulgaria in September 1923. All characters, with the exception of the leaders of the uprising Georgi Dimitrov and Vasil Kolarov, are symbolic characters. The central figures, Stefan and Peter, impersonate the motive forces behind the uprising - the workers and the peasants. They are involved in worker's strikes, in the stormy events of the First World War and the Soldier's uprising in 1918. They also participate in the bloody clashes of the September uprising and suffer its defeat after they have seen too late the need for concerted action by communists and agrarians.