It's a film about solidarity and human help: in this case, from a less persecuted Pole to a more persecuted Jew. The film's protagonists are a young woman, Jadwiga, who makes a living feeding lice at the Institute, and a ghetto escapee, Dalek, and later his supposed sister, or rather his wife, Fryda, whom Jadwiga shelters in her apartment. The three characters fight for their lives, for survival, and not only for their own but also Fryda's unborn child. However, they fail, as a series of tragic events unfolds. Knowing that her husband, Dalek, will not reveal the truth about them to Jadwiga, who is in love with him, Fryda does so alone and, without saying goodbye, departs for the embattled ghetto. Her husband follows her.