The Young Man and the White Whale

Good-looking Edita Beningerová arrives at a chemical factory in the North Bohemian town of Ústí nad Labem together with her young assistant Naďa. She is hoping that her ex-husband, outstanding practical chemical engineer Vik Panc, will help her conduct an experiment to validate her proposed theoretical method of isolating cholesterol from lanolin. The success of Edita's invention is crucial for her career at the Prague Institute of Chemistry. Vik's room mate from his hostel Břeťa is thrilled. He will finally meet the mysterious and fascinating Edita about whom he has learned so much from Vik. The nurse Miluška whom Břeťa is dating is nice but boringly ordinary in his eyes, since he has a vivid imagination and a permanent longing for adventure. Břeťa is encouraged by the old boatman Gauss, a former whaler, who says that great deals in life are like the hunt for the rare white whale. The cold and somewhat arrogant Edita takes little notice of Břeťa but nearly pays dearly for her arrogance. With Naďa's help, she finally persuades Vik to conduct a successful experiment but she still needs to test everything in production and only the foreman Břeťa can force the workers to extend their shifts to do evenings and weekends. The offended young man softens only after Edita really begins to take notice of him. Břeťa is in love with Edita, his emotion wins her over and she falls in love for the first time in her life. A powerful solvent is needed for the chemical reaction. All alone in the old, poorly ventilated factory hall, Břeťa uses the cheap but highly poisonous chlorex. The experiment succeeds but Břeťa dies, face to face with his while whale.