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This symbol-laden political drama follows the travails of Janek (Wojchiech Malajkat), an actor in a theatrical troupe, who has been given a mysterious briefcase to look after. As a result of his taking receipt of the briefcase (the contents of which are never divulged), he goes to prison not once, but two times. He is strongly encouraged (that is to say tortured) to name his fellow conspirators. The actor's family history is deeply marked by the history of repressions in Poland between the end of World War Two and 1981, when the story takes place. The Janek himself does not know what is going on, only that he is being used by the state system as a pawn in a game of betrayal and counter-betrayal.