At the end of May 1918, released prisoners return to the Rumburk garrison from Russian captivity, hoping that the war is over for them. The only thing they want is to get their withheld soldier`s pay and then go home. In the meantime, they take pleasure in having fun in the local wine cellar The Northern Rose and listen and watch the temperamental Tonka (Jirina Bohdalová) sing and dance. In an odd way, she gets close to the soldier Noha (Rudolf Deyl). The civilian inhabitants suffer from hunger and shortages. In the barracks and on the training grounds, however, the Austrian drill continues. Its brutal and absurd character is more and more often becoming the cause of the soldiers` discontent. Upon hearing the spreading news that they should return to the front, a rebellion breaks out.