Too Big a Chance

A young biologist, Doctor Petr Gabriel, gets the chance of a lifetime at the institute where he works. He is to replace an older, sick colleague in a leading position. He goes to his cottage. On the way, he pulls up for a young elegant hitchhiker, Olga Králová. The two soon wish to get closer together. Olga agrees to visit Petr's cottage. They drink wine and become lovers. In the evening, Petr drives Olga to get a bus to the town of Kladno. However, he runs over a little boy on the way back and the kid dies before he can even take him to hospital. Petr realizes that the tragedy will mean the end of both his hitherto life and scientific career because he was driving drunk. His first decision – to hide the boy's body in a cave – is the beginning of his moral decline. He tries to blame two thieves who had attacked him in the cottage for the boy's death. To divert attention from him, he must prepare various "evidence" against the aggressive young men and must keep on lying. But an investigator from the Prague criminal police does not let himself be fooled and his suspicion soon focuses on Petr. He lays a trap for the man with his colleagues and Petr Gabriel gets caught in it.