An
Albanian Muslim pilgrim returns to
Yugoslavia from
Saudi Arabia infected with an unknown disease. He is moved from
Kosovo to a hospital in
Belgrade, where his symptoms worsen and eventually lead to his death. By the time hospital officials realize he was infected with
smallpox, which they had trouble identifying due to the belief that the disease had been eradicated, it is already too late. The disease spreads as the disorganised staff attempt to isolate the infected. An
epidemiologist arrives to assist doctors and function as a means of communication between the now quarantined hospital and the outside world. The film follows the behaviour of numerous groups of people, including patients at the hospital, medical staff, ordinary citizens and government officials, commenting largely on the corruption and cowardice of politicians and high-ranking medical staff (such as Superintendent Čole, who locks himself in his office and steals medicine), but also displaying the humanity and self-sacrifice of the medical staff in times of crisis. Twenty-one days pass after the final case is documented, and the hospital is officially declared smallpox-free. The quarantine is lifted and government officials announce that the disease has once again been eradicated. == Cast ==