In this novel the leading charcters are drawn into a highly strained historical and political situation where they are faced with the dilemma of choosing between life and honour. Four ordinary people are exchanging opinions about the human condition and the role of man's dignity in a tavern in Budapest in 1944, when the Arrow Cross, the Hungarian nazis, break in and try to force them to exacerbate the suffering of a prisoner being held under torture. Three of the four men who had wavered so much in their positions during the debate to refuse to concede, and one by one go on to assume the perilous consequences of their actions. The fourth man, however, obeys the order. But has he really lost his honour?