A young man who long ago gave over the hard work of being a composer for the easy life of a rich man's son is bamboozled into slapping together a musical production. Having borrowed right and left, and plagiarized the works of a friend, he feels cheap, very cheap. He feels even worse when the awful thing is a success.

Tomislav is a former Partizan who continues his struggle after the war as a dedicated member of Tito's secret police. He meets and falls in love with a ballet dancer from a bourgeois family. His love affair with the class enemy and his slow adaptation to the post-war realities could seal his doom.