Musicians Eva and Jan Rosenberg have escaped civil war in their own unnamed country to settle on a far-off island where they try to make a living by growing vegetables. They have been married seven years and are childless. In town, they meet a fisherman, Filip, and the mayor, Colonel Jacobi. Filip has heard that armed forces have landed on the island and that resistance is being organized. Suddenly, they are in the shadow of war. Eva and Jan try to escape by car but are taken prisoners by the invaders and only manage to avoid torture through the intervention of Colonel Jacobi, to whom Eva has given herself in return for his help. The guerrillas, led by Filip, turn up and arrest the colonel. Jan takes the money the colonel has given Eva and without qualms shoots him. They try and escape again, but their boat is obstructed by scores of dead bodies floating in the water. Filip jumps overboard and drowns. Eva remembers a dream in which she and her daughter see an airplane set fire to a wall of roses. She tries to recall something important but finds she has forgotten.