Lubomír Černík

After their young daughter dies suddenly from a viral infection, Marie and Petr struggle to cope with the silence and emptiness left in their apartment. The couple drifts apart as Marie sinks into deep isolation while Petr attempts to distract himself through work and social interactions. Eventually, they decide to try for another child in an effort to move forward and rebuild their fractured relationship.

Martin, a poor student, volunteers to go on a quest to find a cure for the princess Adriana, who is stricken with a strange illness. Unknown to Martin or anyone else, the princess is actually under the spell of the powerful magician Andlobrandini, who is preparing a rejuvenating elixir made from the blood of nine men's hearts.

The bridegroom Jan Kaspar is an officer in the Klement Gottwald's Nová Hut rolling-mill. After bidding farewell to his freedom, he accidentally takes a sip from the bottle of tetrachlore which he stores at home. He disregards the dizziness, but the next day, he faints in the factory and has a brain concussion. During her regular tests, doctor Dudková is shocked by a high percentage of residual nitrogen found in Kaspar's blood. Doctor Bohácek, with whom Dudková consults, thinks that it is a liver disease and informs the head physician Filip. The doctors know nothing about tetrachlore and are in the dark about the case. Despite that, they immediately start to fight for Kaspar's life and their struggle consequently affects their personal lives.

When Dr. Hahn is found murdered in the hospital’s inspection room, investigators question several suspects: his colleague and longtime lover Dr. Marie Nováková (whom he cheated on with nurse Jiřina), the nurse herself, Dr. Petera (whose career he stymied), a senile patient named Zima, and the inept clinic head. As police sift through truthful and deceptive testimonies, complex professional rivalries and personal entanglements among the hospital staff come to light.