The Polish Uprising of January 1863 seen through the eyes of the enemy, a Russian officer, baron Yeremin (Radosław Pazura). The young aristocrat watches the brutality and cruelty of his own unit, and starts to sympathize with Poles. Captain Dobrowolski (Janusz Gajos), a Russified Pole, takes a different attitude. He cannot comprehend his compatriots who start a fight for independence when they do not stand the slightest chance of winning....