A psychological drama about a loner looking for his place on earth, finding the meaning of life in a relationship with nature and defending it against devastation. The young highlander Jan Gasienica, looking for a job, ends up in a village where there is a large fish farm. He is unable to bond with the new environment. Although he impresses fishermen with the violin, he gets into a fight with Wladyslaw, jealous of Helena, with whom Jan lives, and who is to marry him after the death of Wladyslaw's sick wife. Jan undertakes a nonsensical construction of a dam that prevents the eels from emerging to spawn in the autumn, but when he sees the fish slide along the shore or through the crevices, he destroys the entire structure himself. Jan leaves, saying goodbye only to Helena's daughter, Jadzka, who has found him and offers him a ray of sunshine.
—Filmpolski