The Principality of Wallachia with the capital Bucharest (today a region of Romania) before the Revolution of the year 1848. A couple of secret societies are working to chase away the Prince Gheorge Bibescu from his throne, arms are transported on secret ways, preparing the first popular revolts in Bucharest, as the first act of the Revolution of 1848, which revolution is the first impulse of the later act of the Union of the Wallachia with Moldova (Romanian United Principalities in 1862, Kingdom of Romania in 1881 and Kingdom of Greater Romania 1918, with Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia).
The explosion of a 4300 tones Kauper furnace brings up an inquiry, conducted by Ștefan, a Romanian Communist Party activist. He is trying to get to the truth, even if he is pressured just to assign blame.
An old geriatrics professor accidentally discovers after a high-school reunion a potion that can rejuvenate anybody and uses it on him and his friends. They all go their new youthful ways but, for most of them, things don't go according to plan.
Petre Orsa, a young peasant gets a job at the Hunedoara Steel Mill with the dream of becoming a top-notch steel-man, having Mihai Solca - a sort of communist industrial hero- as his role model. He starts low moving dirt around with a shovel but he soon gets into the team of an old steel man, foreman Tudor Baci.