Acclaimed Polish actor Jerzy Binczycki (Pan Taseusz) stars as a talented surgeon who is abandoned by his wife and daughter. Stricken with grief, he gets drunk and is badly beaten during a robbery. Suffering from amnesia, the doctor wanders for years from village to village toiling as a common laborer. While working at a mill, he is driven by impulse to help the mill owner's son walk again after an accident Gradually, the locals begin to drop by to see the famous "quack," resulting in a series of remarkable circumstances for the unfortunate doctor. Directed with style and energy by Jerzy Hoffman (WITH FIRE AND SWORD), this romantic melodrama is the most faithful adaptation of the best-selling novel.