A boy named Kosta is born. At 9, his father compels him to quit school and work for the family pottery. Undiscouraged, Kosta studies nightly, nurturing a love for literature, especially poetry and communism.

Kosta and friends escape trouble with drunk police. Later, he attends a Communist Party Congress in Dresden but is arrested at the Austrian border on his return. After 3 months, Kosta returns home to find an army service invitation.

After facing harassment by the army corporal, Kosta visits Skopje often to organize a poetry reading, facing opposition from authorities. He befriends Antun Kolendic. The police are informed that Kosta leads the local Communist movement.

During a picnic, police spoil the fun for Kosta and friends. Heading home, Kosta's friend Stevan Galogaza arrives, but as agents and police approach, both Stevan and Kosta are arrested.

Kosta endures torture in prison. After 6 months, he's transported for a tense trial in Zagreb, where he and Stevan Galogaza are sentenced to 4 years in jail.