The story takes place immediately after the end of the Second World War in a small town in Serbia. The boy Danko lives with his aunt in a small house with backyard when his uncle Gavrilo returns from the war on a white horse called Belac. The boy and the horse immediately become inseparable friends: Danko rides it on his way to school, gallops by the river, triumphantly passes through the town... This causes envy of Danko's friends but also locals who, experiencing great hunger of the post-war period, only see Belac as a potential food source rather than a noble animal.