In a small town in Nazi-occupied Slovakia during World War II, decent but timid carpenter Tono is named "Aryan comptroller" of a button store owned by an old Jewish widow, Rozalie. Since the post comes with a salary and standing in the town's corrupt hierarchy, Tono wrestles with greed and guilt as he and Rozalie gradually befriend each other. When the authorities order all Jews in town to be rounded up, Tono faces a moral dilemma unlike any he's known before.

An elderly man lives a solitary and rhythmic life by a dilapidated mill near a river. His days are spent almost entirely in silence, fishing under the shade of a massive, ancient willow tree that seems as old and weathered as he is. One Sunday, while fishing, he witnesses a murder.

Traveling salesman in a small town before WW2 makes a solemn promise to kill himself. Later he finds that the local people took him very seriously.

A young teacher grows up in a small Slovak village during the Second World War.