Set in the early 1950's, during the Stalin's Personality Cult. The story opens in a provincial town. Tomek's father, a former member of the Home Army is arrested so the mother is left with the task of raising two kids alone. The neighbor upstairs commits suicide when her husband is also arrested and transported to the prison camp. It's winter so the kids keep their hands warm at school by hand-beating themselves. The teachers at school are mean, narrow minded idealists, When they ask the kids who goes to church on Sundays, the whole class stands up to defeat the purpose of the propaganda lesson. Tomek is sent to the training school in the summer. There he absorbs most of the ideology pumped into his head, and when his father is released from prison he finds another boy he has left. 背景设置在1950年代,斯大林个人崇拜时期.故事从一个省城开始,托米克的父亲私以为前家乡军成员,被逮捕后留下妻子抚养两个孩子.楼上的邻居因为丈夫也被捕并转到集中营而自杀.因为是冬季,所以孩子们在学校为了保持手暖和而不断自己打手.学校的老师是刻薄且心胸狭隘的唯心主义者,当他们问孩子谁在周日去了教堂,全班都站起来,挫败了这节政宣课的企图.夏季托米克被送往培训学校.在那里他被灌输了大量意识形态.等他父亲从监狱里被释放,他发现自己的孩子变了一个人