Forty-year old Cenda (Vladimír Mensík) is a confirmed bachelor. He shares a flat with his mentally ill mother (Marie Rosulková) and their morose lodger Martin (Jaroslav Marvan), an actor. His mother's illness started years ago, after her husband died suddenly, and now her son looks after her with great care. The quiet and withdrawn man works in the basement storage room of a large printing works in the center of Prague. To his irritation, he is the center of attention among the unmarried women at work. One day his mother dies. Cenda is all alone now and doesn't know what to do with this new freedom.