In 1944's Romania the home of teenager Mihai Secosan is destroyed by a German bomb and his parents are killed. The orphaned and homeless 15 year-old boy tries to enlist in the Romanian army but he's rejected due to his age. He starts hanging around with a professional pick-pocket. One day the thief shows Mihai the ex-police officer who often-times arrested and beat him. The ex-cop, officer Potra, is now the new director of a Juvenile Correctional Institution. Mihai asks the thief to report the abusive ex-cop to the Communist authorities but the thief refuses fearing retaliation. When Mihai and the thief steal a man's wallet Mihai is arrested and sent to the same Juvenile Institution where ex-cop Potra is now director.