City of Lódz. Poland under Russian occupation, 1905. Wert, a young commander of the "PPS" militant unit, secretly escapes to Germany after the suppression of the revolution. A Russian secret police agent, Yegor Potapovich Yegorov, is punished for Werta's escape from degradation to an insignificant office function. He swears vengeance. After several years of searching, he discovers Wert's place of residence and lures him to Lódz. He does not want to kill him immediately, but first to break, humiliate and intimidate him. He begins the game with his deadly enemy.