One of the most outstanding Latvian films based on a short story by Rudolfs Blaumanis.

This is a dramatic story about a group of fishermen who have been carried out to sea on a broken ice floe. As the days pass, hope of rescue wanes. Sometimes, in their dreams, they float to the shore, emphasising the tragedy of their situation.

Fate has brought a disparate group of people together on the ice – men in their prime, grey-haired elders, and a young boy. On the verge of life and death, their true selves are revealed: their strength of character, weaknesses, noble self-sacrifice, and avarice.

The climax is reached when a rescue boat finally reaches the drifting floe – only to reveal it cannot take everyone, forcing the men to draw lots.