The movie takes place in Budapest in 1904. Two boys gangs are opposed. On the one hand "the boys of Via Pal," the other the "red shirts". The battlefield is precisely the area around the Via Pal. The plot has several differences compared to that of the novel: it is said, for example, of a friendship between the grandmother of Csele and Jano Guardian, both absolutely marginal characters (the grandmother even in the novel is only mentioned).