A ruminative, understated drama on the nature of overwork versus an "unachieving" life away from the city, Pelnia examines the experience of one man. After leaving his high-pressured existence as a successful architect, the newly resolved dropout goes to live in a small community of cabins and summer homes in a lake-filled region north of Warsaw. His interactions with the villagers, including a drunkard and other eccentrics, provide an informative background for what happens next. The ex-architect's wife is a professional singer who has not abandoned the city or her life -- and she soon arrives to spend some time with her very changed husband.