On 8 May 1945, the year of Germany's surrender, a post-war Poland finds itself struggling to rise from the ashes, as ambitious cliques of patrician patriots, determined Communists, Soviet soldiers, and brave anti-German resistance fighters all jockey for position. Against the backdrop of this explosive melting pot somewhere in a small Polish town, Maciek Chelmicki, a former Home Army member and now an efficient assassin, fails in his mission to execute the newly-appointed district secretary, Commissar Szczuka, only to have a fateful encounter with the charming barmaid, Krystyna. But, how can Maciek start afresh and rebuild his life with Krystyna away from a cause he served his entire life, especially now that the dilemma between patriotism and skepticism is more agonizing than ever?—Nick Riganas