Eight years later, in Radom, Poland during the June 1976 protests, the young man is now the local First Secretary of the Communist Party (Wenceslaus Ulewicz).

Demonstrations in the industrial towns of Radom and Plock quickly lead to the beating and firing of thousands of workers.

Despite the growing threat, he decides to stick it out at the party's office instead of making the recommended hasty escape.

As the morning passes, the secretary becomes increasingly vulnerable because the central government refuses to yield to the protesters' demands.

By the afternoon, the party secretary finally yields to the police chief's orders that he leave his office.