At the beginning of the First World War, a young Polish journalist accused of writing a blasphemous article finds himself in a Russian prison. Sharing his cell are a safecracker and a murderer. The three will be cooped up together until each of their crimes has been investigated. The newspaperman begins taking copious notes with the intention of writing a social satire based on his experiences. The prison officials make as colorful characters as the prisoners themselves, as the reality sparking the writer's imagination transforms unexpectedly, and often comically, in front of us. As in the best satire, fantasy mixes with reality until the two are indistinguishable.