It is April 1945, spring begins and ends the war. German transport heading away from Bohemia.

Pan Tau, the friend of all children, now also helps the adults. A movie producer is in trouble and decides to shoot another Pan-Tau movie. But the old Pan-Tau actor Karasek is no longer young enough to walk the almost weightless walk of Pan Tau. Mr. Novak turns up - he resembles Pan Tau like a twin brother. He succeeds every pirouette. And as if by magic, he solves all the problems between people! Who is Mr. Novak? Is he really ...?

Her mother dead, 18-year-old Vladka travels to a remote village in the dead of winter to find the father she has never met. The happiness of their initial meeting gives way to the daughter’s disappointment and concern over the hardworking man’s alcoholism.

Set in Prague during the years leading up to World War II, this family saga tells the story of a cobbler named Vincenc Bursik (Vladimir Mensik), who uproots his clan from the country to the city, only to suffer the loss of his wife and the failure of his shoe business within months. When his daughter moves away to go live with a wealthy businessman as his mistress, Vincenc is left to take care of his two sons, who spend their days in a secret garden vying for the affections of a teenage girl.

Hlavními postavami je mladá psycholožka Doubravka a vesnický mladík Honza Macháček. On je traktorista, který při ztřeštěné sázce dočasně přišel o řidičský průkaz, takže teď pase družstevní stádo krav, ona je na chatě se svým chlapcem Bobou, který nepříliš úspěšně studuje medicínu a právě se připravuje na opravné zkoušky. Honzova bezprostřednost, optimismus a přístup k životu i práci ostře kontrastuje se sobeckým, slabošským a nevyrovnaným Bobou a Doubravka si stále víc uvědomuje, že její cit k Bobovi zmizel a doopravdy má vlastně ráda Honzu. Otázkou je, jak se na takovou partii bude dívat její poněkud konzervativní rodina.