Post- civil war era, in modern Greek history. Two adjoining rooms in a shabby hotel; one is visible at the front of on the stage, the other at the back. Supposedly, the orchestra is perceived as another room where the spectators - as "residents" of the hotel - see the events that take place in the two adjoining rooms, the same way that the tenants of the back see everything that happens at the front one.

A couple of impoverished stallholders has found refuge in the room, helped by representatives of the ruling class (which has also won the civil war). In return for the help, which includes a paltry sum of money as well as the reissue of their sales permit, the disabled man – with both his legs crippled – is obligated to proclaim to the passers-by that, as a prisoner of war, he was maltreated by the communists (who lost the civil war) and this resulted in him losing his legs. This transaction that accentuates the couple’s tragic life offends the woman’s dignity, who ends up murdering this man she loves so much. She then commits suicide.

The "neighbor" in the back room, an unemployed peeper, witnesses the events from a hole he has opened in the wall... His feelings are mixed; surprise for the unexpected spectacle, agitation, but also the apathy. He later recounts the story to his lover, when she returns tired from her job – she is an exclusive nurse.  They both comment on the front-room drama with coldness, untouched by the tragedy and unable to grasp their own dismal situation. A fleeting doubt of the "neighbor", like a sleepy awakening of remorse – whether he should have intervened to prevent the murder and the suicide – lead to the conclusion that the best way for anyone to survive is as "spectator, aloof and from afar".