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Řina Weberová, the daughter of a retired colonel, is the owner of a not very prosperous photo studio. Her elderly boyfriend, banker Václav Novák, secretly supports her financially because he is in love with her. One day, Řina meets her childhood friend, Vincenc Špaček, who has entered military service in Prague. The enterprising Vincenc and his inseparable comrade Vendelín Křídl advertise Řina's studio in the military garrison, so that the soldiers flock to Řina to have her photograph them. One day, Lieutenant Novák also shows up and immediately falls in love with Řina. Řina's father finds out that banker Novák is visiting his daughter, and he wants him to marry her...
Country man Josef Bezoušek has gone to Prague for an extended visit to his lawyer son's family. His son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters have welcomed him with open arms, so the grandfather quickly gets used to them and really likes the metropolis. He enjoys walks and city attractions, and in the process he inadvertently gets involved in the story of his son's sister-in-law's forbidden love. She has lost her mind for a poor young man, her father does not want her to know him and imprisons the girl at home. The scoundrel Bezoušek inadvertently finds himself right in the center of the affair - and trouble is already coming his way. He himself could have endured it, but before leaving Prague he wants to settle the whole matter to the benefit of the unfortunate lovers...
People are afraid of the usurer Chazaj and are convinced that he is the bearer of evil. One day Chazaj pays a visit to the poor artist Simon Jordán and asks him to paint his portrait. Simon agrees but as he progresses with the work his mind conjures up terrible thoughts and in the end he commits suicide. The portrait looks lifelike and Chazaj is content with the results. After Chazaj's death the picture changes hands and brings misfortune to all who own it. The last victim is the young painter Roman who buys Chazaj's portrait in a bazaar. He finds a treasure in the frame and begins to live well off it. The comfortable life suits him so well that he rejects his original artistic aims and becomes a painter of fashionable kitsch.
A new owner of the estate, Konrád Ritter von Schiess, arrives in the Czech village of Sluky. On his orders, the inhabitants of the village are to be evicted and only 30 families are allowed to remain, who volunteer to work on the estate. However, the inhabitants refuse to work for the lords, and their solidarity only strengthens when one of them is murdered by the Gestapo based on a report by the estate manager Prokeš...
In the Škoda factory, where they are feverishly rearming in 1914, works the foreman Kalina, the father of the young men Pavel and Jan. Pavel is a supporter of the monarchy, while Jan, on the contrary, defends the idea of our national independence. Just before mobilization, Jan escapes to Russia, where he joins a group of volunteer legionnaires called the "Czech Company", fighting against the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Pavel enlists in the Austrian army. The brothers do not meet again until July 1917 in the battle of Zborov in Ukraine, which marked a successful breakthrough of the Austro-Hungarian front.
A graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy, Karel Stržický earns extra money in the summer as a day laborer for the landowner Drahan. Jarča, the Drahans' daughter, spends the holidays with her parents, and her father has a lot of worries about her. The unsuccessful student is failing her German. However, an easy solution is offered - Karel will prepare her for remedial work. The mischievous Jarča considers him an ordinary coachman, and so she initially turns her nose up at him. However, the cultured young man manages to win her trust and heart. This does not go down well with his rival in the fight for the girl's favor, and he immediately comes up with a nasty slander: Karel is supposedly a former convict! A rift is not long in coming...
On the banks of the Otava River stands a manor house that a group of boys find very mysterious. After visiting it, the boys discover that there is nothing there but an old lady and her granddaughter. The group splits into two camps and a "pitched" fight ensues, but it doesn't last long.
Filmed during the Nazi occupation, this panoramic drama set in a Prague department store follows the divergent destinies of four female coworkers, each of whom seeks happiness in a different way.