Next to a small Dalmatian town of Murvice oil was found, and politicians make a hasty decision to build a tanker port, although there is no oil in the quantities required for exploitation. Urged by his ambitious wife, the engineer Slobodan Despot becomes director of the port construction, which his wife's lover skillfully exploits to use Despot as scapegoat. The construction of unprofitable airport gradually destroys the patriarchal structure of Murvice, as well as Despot's personal life and ideals, which he tried to restore by having affair with the young and unspoiled girl.