In 1947, among the ruins of war and in anticipation of a catastrophic flood, the locals of a Vojvodina village find themselves caught between the devastation of their livelihoods and the demands of the new Communist authorities.

The mother of a national hero Nikoletina Bursac leads an imaginary conversation with the statue of her deceased son. We follow events from Nikoletina's life and war: his joining of the partisans together with his neighbor Jovica Jez, meeting with the small Jewish girl Erna who survived the slaughter of her village, constant quarrels and friendship with commander Pirgo and commissar Zlatko, meeting with Curetak and their unsuccessful love relationship.

The body of Dr. Charles Berens, Chief of the United Nations Medical Relief Organization, is seen hurtling from the lofty parapet of an ancient church. He has chosen death rather than capitulate to his murderous pursuers. Police chief Colonel Ferrer (Andrew Faulds) arrives in time to hear the dying Berens last words: "July the 18th! The One Eyed Soldiers."