The teenage Jirka (J. Procházka) likes to spend time with his aunt (Š. Ranošová) in a secluded village. He does not feel comfortable at home. His mother (J. Vaňková) and stepfather Ivan (P. Pelzer) scrape together every penny to save up for an expensive kitchen set and a Persian carpet. His mother is not very fond of his aunt and does not like Jirka's visits. On her next visit, the aunt gives Jirka her husband's carpentry tools. Jirka meets Jakub (M. Holub), an old carpenter, who helps him repair an old kitchen sideboard. Jakub shows the boy how precious wood the sideboard is made of. The two become friends. However, their mother is about to throw the sideboard away
Mikolás and his brother Adam end up with a young German hostage of noble blood during a robbery. While their clan prepares for the wrath of the German king, Mikolás is sent to pressure his neighbor Lazar into a defense pact. Persuasion fails and he abducts Lazar's daughter Marketa on the eve of her initiation as a nun in an act of vengeance.