The film which tells the capture of Sándor Rózsa's outlaws gives a picture of the techniques used by a despotic power. In 1869, count Gedeon Ráday is appointed to be a government commissioner. His task is to ensure general security of property and to capture the outlaws following the 1848-49 War of Independence. Ráday does not prove to be fastidious and gentle about the tools he uses. The outlaws are taken to a castle prison called "The Trench" in Nagyalföld (Great Plain), and with cruel psychological methods, they are tried to be forced to betray their fellows. The former soldiers of Kossuth, leader of the Hungarian freedom fight, get trapped because of their pride and dignity.