2009. Pavel Josek, an eminent scientist and former dissident, is due to receive a state honour for bravery. During the filming of a television documentary about his life it comes to light that at the beginning of the 1970s - under pressure from the secret police - he played a part in the discrediting of a former friend, who was ultimately forced to emigrate. The family drama sheds light on the practises employed by the secret police to discredit its opponents.