Based on the popular novel of the same title by Vilis Lācis. Latvia, the 1930s. Roberts Līviņš, the son of a dockhand, becomes an architect by his own efforts, thanks to arduous work and talent. But in his relationship with Līvija, the daughter of the rich entrepreneur Ulpe, Roberts realizes that the high society might look down on his common origins as well as his sister Alise, a hairdresser, and her boyfriend Ēriks, an opportunist and former boxer.

At the center of it is the fate of young women in the war and in the harsh post-war times, when witch-hunting of "enemies of the people" was a common occurrence. The brutal war is mutilating both the girls' bodies and their souls. Location: military hospital. It is just a backdrop to which the character rattles, the intrigue, the human relationships. The pathos of the tape conveys the idea that a woman is and remains a woman in all circumstances and situations. During the tumultuous years of war, they were also overwhelmed by true love, mutual understanding, trust and tenderness.

A homage to Krišjānis Barons and his life's work – to collect and catalogue Latvian folksongs or dainas,thus creating the encyclopaedia of Latvian life, a poetic reflection of the knowledge of life accumulated over the centuries. The film is based on Krišjānis Barons' life during late 1800s and early 1900s – his childhood and youth in Latvia, studies and work in St. Petersburg and other places in Russia, his relationship with his faithful wife Dārta, and the awakening of the Latvian self-awareness.

It is the post-war era on the Latvian border, and the Lithuanian girl Maryte has located her relative, Antanas. Having been a farmhand on a rich farm as well as the lover of the owner's wife, upon his return from the war Antanas hopes to gain as much as he can from the collapse of the old world. The wife's daughter, Ausma, has since grown up and seems much more desirable to Antanas than his former lover. The historical situation makes for a tense atmosphere, because in the nighttime partisans may emerge from the forest, while during the daytime everyone must be careful to follow the new rules of life under Soviet rule.

The police leadership is concerned about the increase in car thefts. The investigation of the thefts is entrusted to police captain Siliņš. Once, his fiancée and colleague Aija Kalniņa almost catches up with the criminals in her service car after a chase, but at the last moment they manage to escape. However, Aija manages to spot her eighteen-year-old brother Juris among the thieves. Hiding in the forest, the car thieves accidentally witness another crime—an attack on a woman. To justify himself in his sister's eyes, Juris sets out to find the criminal and is killed.

The epic film is based on the motifs of Vilis Lācis' novel "The Zītari Family". The tragedy of the Zītari family is a model of Latvian national history. With the beginning of World War I, the patriarchal way of life of Captain Andrejs and his wife Alvīne, their children Kārlis, Ings, Ernests, Elza and Janka changes, with years spent at work and in rare, modest celebrations. Kārlis voluntarily goes to the front, Ingus disappears without a trace on long sea voyages. Not wanting to live in the territory occupied by the German army, the Zītari evacuate to the distant Altai region. The unusually difficult living conditions and the drastically changing political situation of the post-revolutionary period also affect each member of the Zītari family. When the opportunity arises to return to Latvia, Andrejs and Alvīne are no longer among the living. The old sailor's nest has collapsed and the young Zītari are no longer able to preserve their father's house - all the property is stolen.

The heroine of the film is a young attractive woman whose motto is “you need to become depraved to feel like a saint.” She is convinced that men who love her should easily accept her for who she is. But it only causes them pain...