Set in military barracks in a small town during World War I. The soldiers herded in the barracks are 'politically suspect' mix of characters from all over of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Czechs, Jews, and even Italians, but officers in charge are Germans. A new lieutenant arrives with the mission to bring order to the unit. He is the sadist, enjoying humiliating the men. Fed up with his behaviour the lower ranks kidnap him one night and string him up in a public toilet. They also make sure that he fouls up during the inspection. Eventually the five ring leaders are imprisoned. They escape and end up in Budapest posing as guards as guards of veterinary surgeons. They are caught and sent back to face a court martial and their old tormentor.
A young doctor has been assigned to a hospital in the provinces, in the lakes district of northern Poland. The area is a playground with hunting lodges for the priviledged, the local politicians cover up any leaks to the public. The doctor discovers a case of drunken driving but is silenced by blackmail in the court. He tries to fight back but has a love affair with the unfaithful wife of the town's Mayor.
A young factory worker takes up on boxing as a way to find himself and advance his chances for the future. But the difficulties of sorting himself out in the crooked boxing environment hold him back in the beginning, until he arrives for tournament in Chicago, where he can prove himself. In the end, he wins over his Yank opponent, an amateur below his ranking, and is back in the factory.
Two young men from a town near Lodz attack and rob a taxi driver, hoping he will have a lot of cash. Wanted by the Militia, they run away through Poland.
A school teacher from a small town in Poland comes to Warsaw to see his estranged wife, a window dresser, in the hope that she will return to him rather than give him a divorce.
