The story takes place during the last few days of World War II in Europe, and describes the political and moral dilemmas associated with the soon to be suppressed Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1946).

According to a Polish journalist Krzysztof Kąkolewski the original story was the killing of a Communist – and robber – Jan Foremniak, in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski in January 1945.

Podgórski learns from her that her husband Antoni Kossecki, who was a local judge before the war, had returned from the German prison camp Groß-Rosen two days ago.

Szczuka mentions that he had also spent time in that prison camp, but cannot remember knowing anyone from Gross-Rosen named Kossecki.

They find that the passengers, two workers named Smolarski and Gawlik, have been shot and killed, apparently ambushed at the narrow place in the road they had just passed.

Antoni Kossecki and his wife Alicja Kossecka (the couple that Podgórski was telling Szczuka about), have two sons Andrzej (21) and Alek (17).

During the war, while his father was at Gross-Rosen, Andrzej was fighting as a partisan, presumably with the Armia Krajowa (AK), although it is never mentioned by name in the story.

The only person who could easily have taken it was her younger son Alek, who was there at home earlier but suddenly left the house shortly after she did.

These conversation fragments strongly suggest to the reader that Andrzej and his friends were somehow involved in the ambush of the two men in the jeep.

They will both attend a banquet at the hotel later in the evening, but Podgórski says that he first wants to visit Antoni Kossecki, as he had agreed earlier in the day with Alicja Kossecka.

She has not invited him, and does not expect him to visit, but he feels that he has to tell her that his wife Maria (the sister of Katarzyna Staniewiczowa) has not returned from the prison camp where she had been staying.

While waiting for Krystyna's shift to end, Maciek is joined in the bar by his friend Andrzej Kossecki, who has just come from the home of Katarzyna Staniewiczowa.

Andrzej recounts his meeting the Captain Waga, and Maciek promises to finish the job of killing Szczuka.

Meanwhile, Alek Kossecki, who has stolen the 3,000 zloties from his mother, is meeting in an abandoned basement with four of his friends, all of whom belong to a conspiratorial organization.

Back at the hotel, Podgórski has returned from his visit to Antoni Kossecki, and stops by Szczuka's room on his way to the banquet.

While they are talking, Szczuka tells Podgórski that Antoni Kossecki had committed horrible crimes while at the Gross-Rosen prison camp.

Downstairs, the banquet, which turned into a boisterous party, is ending, and the hotel impresario has the musicians play Chopin's Military Polonaise as the last guests leave.

After having killed Szczuka he is nervous about being recognized, and on his way to the train station he raises the suspicion of a patrol, which orders him to stop.