In the thirties of the 20th century, in the time of the economic crisis, Eda Krahulík (Petr Svojtka), an editor of the communist newspapers, comes to Ostrava to help organize a strike in the mine Hedvika. From the same train gets off also Knor (Jaroslav Moucka), a secretary of the social democratic trade union, who is known as a man who most likely helps the owners against the workers. Eda is in Ostrava incognito and therefore he hides in a mining pub in a room of a maidservant Zofka. Before long there explains the arrival of Knor - the directorate of the mine began giving notice. It is also Toník Holas (Ivan Vyskocil), supporting his widowed mother, who receives the notice. Toník is talented and constructed the drill sledge. At reward, the mines inspector promised to protect him from dismissal. The desperate young man now reminds him of the promise but the mining inspector denies everything. In an agitation, Toník shoots him dead with a father's gun.