The tragic destiny of Peter Mansfeld, a charismatic 16 year-old and leader of a group of young idealists outraged by the events of 1956 and revolted by the reign of terror that followed in Budapest. This revolutionary romanticism leads the group to make an arms hideout, while carrying out actions that are more like schoolboy pranks than something done by their peers. The kidnapping of a police officer soon leads to their arrest. Imprisioned and tortured despite the efforts of Peter’s mother to save them, the young group is accused of high treason and Mansfeld is killed ten days after his 18th birthday, becoming a symbol in Hungarians' struggle for freedom.