Three-year-old Nikola Szlezyngier disappears in unexplained circumstances and her parents Angelika and Dawid are the main suspects. Angelika contacts an old friend Joanna Chylka, a brilliant, cynical and successful lawyer to help. With her new apprentice Kordian, Joanna will try to bring the case to a happy close.

The film tells the story of two Highlander brothers - Maciek and Andrzej. After the death of their father, which Andrzej contributed to, and the loss of his beloved Bronka, Andrzej leaves the family home. On his way, he meets the mysterious Wolfram, an anthropologist and climber. He shares with him his mountaineering technique and knowledge about the Prague origins of the highlanders. Andrzej returns to Zakopane, war breaks out. To protect the Highlanders from wartime destruction, he wants to persuade them to cooperate with the Germans. Andrzej and Maciek are standing on opposite sides of the barricade. The brothers' confrontation is bloody and painful.