Set in 1946, this movie deals with the planning and execution of the January, 1942 Novi Sad massacre of 4,000 Yugoslavian Serbs and Jews by Hungarian army units. It was undertaken as a reprisal for a partisan ambush (in which 17 soldiers were gunned down). And it is mainly explored through the reminiscences of four participants--Major Buky, Lieutenant Tarpataki, Ensign Pozdor, and Corporal Szabonow--cell-mates awaiting trial. Ultimately, however, what you get is an extended debate over issues of individual responsibility.