Blanka is an experienced and respected editor of a book publishing house, and she is currently working on a book by the young mountaineer Frantisek Andrlík. She takes care of her grown-up children Sárka and Vojta and spends time with her boyfriend — lawyer Otakar. Her life is marked by two major events, first when she accidentally scalded Sárka as a child, causing her significant burns. And secondly, when her husband died. The first accident in particular noticeably changed Blanka’s attitude towards her daughter. She continually blames herself for the visible scars on Sárka's body and attends to her with excessive care and concern. At home, however, this results only in conflicts and mutual misunderstanding. Sárka is only irritated with her mother and increasingly resents her mother for unknowingly taking away her own living space. For this reason, she keeps many things from her mother so that she can at least sometimes breathe freely.