Journalistic in form, the film tells a story of a mining community. It reflects the problems emblematic of the times, including an overwhelming bureaucracy, disrespect for collective property, rampant thievery , apathy and lack of belief in meaningfulness of work, cronyism and power of contacts.
Engineer Przybora becomes a head of the coal mine “Edward”. The new director’s key responsibility is to modernise an outdated enterprise. Given that the mine’s employees are happy with the status quo, the standoff between the new boss and the crew seems inevitable. Przybora is hell-bent on getting things done. He manages to overcome the hurdles and successfully completes his mission. He is assigned a new task. Fortunately, his fiancée Małgosia is there with him.
