Wanda Bartówna

The protagonist of the film is Wanda Bart-Gebethner (1917-1980), an actress who quit her profession and took a job at Śródmiejska Spółdzielnia Mieszkaniowa (Central Housing Cooperative). She currently runs the "Za Żelazną Bramą" café and feels more needed in the Cooperative than in the cinema and theater.

Jan Leszczyc meets Amelia Holska at the bedside of his sick mother and he falls in love with her. Both he and Amelia do not know that her father Józef Holski is an international hotel thief. Persuaded by Torense, his former accomplice, he steals pearls from Julia's apartment, Jan's friend, and gives them to his daughter. She ends up in jail when the diamonds on her neck are recognized as stolen. Holski and Torense are hiding from the police. The depressed Leszczyc does not want to marry the criminal's daughter, but the criminal past of Leszczyc's father soon comes to light.

Pologne, pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Martha Weiss, une femme juive, arrive au camp d'extermination d'Auschwitz avec sa famille. Elle se voit attribuer le rôle d'interprète, mais ses proches ont beaucoup moins de chance.