In 1943 Poland was under nazi occupation, but the tragedy of the war seemed far-away from Powòrna Estate. Other tragedies instigated by the narrator Witold and mysterious Frederick disrupted the lives of the characters reunited in the isolated estate: the ‘dangerous relationship’ between Henia and Karol, orchestrated by Fredrick; the senseless murder of Amelia, Waclaw's mother, Henia’s fiancée; the sad event involving the partisan commander Siemain, that had to be eliminated because he lost control of his nerves. But punishment soon followed.