The war is raging in Slavonia, the eastern part of Croatia.
Ivan, a violinist, and his fellow musicians are holding concerts on the front lines. One of their concerts is interrupted by the enemy shelling. Ivan's best friend, a cellist, loses his arm. Just before Christmas, Ivan visits his parents, who have fled the horrors of war in Osijek and taken refuge in Vienna. There he meets Marina, a lovely doctor. A friend of his arranges an audition for him in the theatre orchestra. The Austrian capital, dazzling with glittering Christmas decorations, provides Ivan with a possibility to begin a new life. But his concern for his wounded friend as well as his father's resoluteness to return to Croatia place him in a dilemma.