 Gas service was cut off in a Hungarian highrise on January 1 due to the residents  unpaid heating bills. While nothing happens for a few days, the people in the building try to deal with the cold. On the eight day the city council s representatives visit the building, but they cannot promise anything either. When one of the residents, a father of two, goes out for a walk after a quarrel with his wife, he suddenly has a crazy idea. When he comes home, he chops up the Christmas tree for firewood and sets a fire in the children s room.