In the 1950s, a party activist travels to rural Transylvania to collec collectivize village farms. A wealthy householder resists attempts to make him give up his wealth, refusing to be brought down to the level of those who have never worked. The concept of collectivization is summed up by an indignant villager who, forced to work the land he no longer owns, bombards the party activist who claims that the land is still his: "You cut off my p..., put it in my hand and said, 'take it, it's still yours'.

Young lawyer Radu Comșa is confronted with an identity crisis as WWI starts.

Three youngsters are sent to "re-education through labor" on a hydro dam construction site. They prove in the end to fare much better than some of their colleagues.