A well-regarded engineer in a big enterprise is hounded by trumped up attacks on his integrity when he delves too deeply into how bonuses are handled by the management. He gets into an argument with the guard, is arrested and subsequently fired. An old friend, a journalist, tries to sort things out but the victim's stubbornness and past problems with his wife lead to lossess by both.
Zofia is an elderly woman living in an retirement home. Separate from the rest, she talks seldom and then only about visiting her daughter's family for Christmas. When she comes to her daughter's home unannounced, her stay is spoiled by the damage to her son-in-law doctorate bookmarks which she removed unknowingly during dusting. She then spends Christmas in an empty restaurant, surrounded by waiters and musicians waiting to be tipped.