The protagonist is the ordinary and still blameless Evžen Macík, who one day, while waiting for his lover Maria, witnesses a robbery of a savings bank. When the robber drops a briefcase with half a million in loot, the loot falls in front of Evžen, who can't resist, picks it up and disappears. He knows that someone might have seen him at the scene of the crime, so he turns himself in as a witness to Captain Richter, who is investigating the case. Shortly thereafter, however, Maciek is contacted by the robber, who begins to force him to hand over the money with constant threats, initially only by telephone. In addition to pressure from the robber, pressure from the police is added because Captain Richter correctly suspects that Macík is hiding something from him. The mounting pressure leads to Eugene starting to make mistakes.