The film covers the formation of Solidarity and centers around work and labor organizing in the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Polish People's Republic.

The film follows the life of Agnieszka Kowalska (Katharina Thalbach) in about three segments covering first her life as a dedicated worker in communist Poland of the early 1960s (DVD chapters 1-4), then following events leading to the Polish 1970 protests (chapters 5-10), and finally the early 1980s, including the dedication of the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970, the Gdańsk Agreement, and Martial law in Poland (chapters 11-15).

However, after the official ceremony, other women workers confront her for working so hard and they are clearly not even trying to beat the quotas set forth by the Party.

At a meeting of Party and union members, Agnieszka tries to argue for a longer lunch break but the officials refuse to budge, especially Sobecki.

Agnieszka is clearly frustrated by the intractability of the officials and their lack of compassion for tough working conditions at the shipyard.

Agnieszka decides that she is willing to take a pay cut and switch jobs with Mateusz, a crane operator.

During a difficult time, a Party official wants Agnieszka to ask the workers to go even faster to meet the shipyard deadlines.

Agnieszka does her best to help pull men out of the fire with her crane but there are 21 workers killed, including her friend Mateusz.

Refusing to accept culpability, the shipyard director decides to withhold all pensions or payments to the surviving dependents.

However, Agnieszka's defiance of the Party and shipyard union is hurting her family politically and may affect her son's ability to get into a good school.