How could it happen that Jana Ládová caused hardship and division to her beloved family? Was the cause of her dissatisfied and greedy nature, as her daughter Máša accused her, or just an interplay of coincidences and the time in which she lived? Maybe if she hadn't met Marta, who emigrated to France in 1968, she would have lived a dull and problem-free life like so many other people in socialist Czechoslovakia.
Jana, the dentist, lies in the hospital full of fears about whether the children will understand her and forgive her failure. She doesn't apologize to herself and looks for answers to a number of questions in the enforced calmness of her bed. She welcomes the opportunity to interview a young journalist who comes after her. From her story, journalist Zdeněk wants to create an article about how people behaved during totalitarianism. They live in Czechoslovakia and the beginning of the nineties brings a lot of social changes. Jana's story promises to be interesting material, because she and her husband decided to emigrate during deep socialism. But their plan did not work out, they had to return home. They were met with a cruel welcome from the state apparatus, as could be expected. Leaving the republic was then a crime, and they turned from originally trouble-free and inconspicuous citizens into suspicious elements. They served as welcome material for State Security, and Jana could not stand the pressure and threats. She paid cruelly for the mistake by breaking up her family and losing her peace of mind. Out of desperation, Roman helped her, who actively opposed the regime and showed Jana a way out of the clutches of her tormentors and the cage of her own mind.