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.