At the end of World War II, an aging Polish rail worker (Kazimierz Opalinski) and his assistant (Adam Pawlikowski) lead a perilous mission to the western front, guiding a train loaded with explosives and other weaponry. Along the way, the persistent pair must contend with hard-nosed German soldiers, frantic deserters and assorted gangs eager to plunder the locomotive in this tense drama from director Bohdan Poreba.