In 1943 in a Romanian fishing village on the river Danube brothers Pavel and Simion compete for the love of Lia while the war is raging on.

Andrei, a lathe operator in Constanța shipyard and also a rugby team player, pendulates between two love interests. He also gets involved for a little while in some criminal activity. In the end decides to go to college to Galați, leaving all this behind.