The film begins with two symbolic scenes: an eagle fluttering in a cage. Cossacks cut down pine trees with sabers to clear the field of fire. It is June 1980. A large rubbish dump near Wólka Węglowa, exactly where Polish cavalrymen charged German troops in 1939. Not far away is the Warsaw Steelworks. A group of former cavalrymen renew their efforts to erect a monument to the Polish cavalry. The cavalrymen stage a reenactment of the charge; it is a commented reconstruction of those events, supported by film documents. A strike breaks out on the coast, then at the Warsaw Steelworks. On radio and television, editor Ryszard Wojna warns the public against a repeat of the events of 1863. This has no effect on the workers' decision. A strike committee is formed at the steelworks, and the workers formulate their demands. The scenes at the steelworks and the strike situations are filmed live.