In Darkness

Socha and Szczepek Wróblewski, two Lvov sewer workers, turn to looting as a means of survival under the brutal occupation. Their actions reflect the desperate moral choices people make when law and safety vanish. This marks the start of a dangerous path fueled by necessity and risk.

In the woods near Lvov, Nazis execute Jewish women, a stark display of terror that shocks the local population. Inside the Lvov ghetto, Jews endure humiliation and ongoing persecution by the SS and Ukrainian police. Smuggling and illicit trade flourish beneath the ghetto walls as daily life grows more brutal.

Ignacy Chiger asks Socha for protection for his family, presenting a watch as payment. Socha hesitantly agrees to shelter the Chiger family, motivated more by necessity than idealism. Szczepek worries about the risks of harbouring Jewish fugitives.

The Jewish fugitives accept Socha and Szczepek’s terms and move into the sewer hideout. The Chiger family becomes part of a clandestine community living beneath Lvov. The sewer shelter becomes a fragile new home under constant threat of discovery.

At a tavern, Bortnik from the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police praises the Nazis and outlines opportunistic terms. Socha and the others weigh the risk of exposure against the need to protect those hiding in the sewers. The arrangement with the Jews grows increasingly precarious.

Gunshots signal the start of the Lvov ghetto’s liquidation. Paulina Chiger and others flee into the sewers, forcing Socha, Szczepek, Mundek, and Janek Grossman to organize an evacuation. Janek leaves his family to be with his mistress Chai, further fragmenting the group.

Socha is briefly captured by Ukrainian shooters but is released thanks to Bortnik’s intervention. He begins hiding his involvement with the Jews from Wanda, his wife, as danger closes in around them. The couple’s private world grows more complicated under the pressure of war.

In a tense home conversation, Socha explains the persecution of Jews and the risks of his actions. Wanda unexpectedly remarks that Jesus was Jewish, prompting Socha to reflect on faith, complicity, and moral responsibility. The exchange deepens the moral stakes for both.

Socha learns that a shopkeeper knows about the Jews’ location and faces pressure to reveal more. He negotiates how far he will go to protect them, weighing his own safety against the lives of those hidden below the city. The shelter grows tenser as trust frays.

Over dinner, Socha finally reveals the depth of his secret involvement with the Jews to his wife, triggering panic. Bortnik’s suspicions intensify as the truth ripples through the circles surrounding the shelter. The fragile protection over the Jews becomes increasingly precarious.

The refugees within the shelter argue amongst themselves, distrusting Socha’s leadership. Socha considers betraying them after Janek’s escape and ultimately ends the cooperative arrangement. The group’s unity fractures under pressure and fear.

One winter morning, Socha, aided by a Jewish smuggler, kills an SS man who targets Mundek. In retaliation, ten Poles, including Szczepek, are hanged for the man’s death. The violence further tightens the noose around the shelter and its protectors.

A new accomplice plans to inform on the Jews, forcing Socha to move them to safety under a church. Chaja gives birth to Janek’s child, but the baby is suffocated to avoid detection. Mundek and Socha later discover Janek and his companions dead, increasing the sense of loss and danger.

Socha arranges to smuggle Mundek to Mania for safety, but the attempt ends with guards shooting them. Mundek survives and returns to the hideout, bringing with him the renewed sense that escape is nearly impossible. The group’s tenuous hold on safety collapses further.

A heavy spring rain floods the sewers during Socha’s daughter’s first Holy Communion, triggering a desperate rescue of the hidden Jews. Socha escapes but loses consciousness, waking to find Bortnik dead; the Soviets enter Lvov and the surviving Jews emerge to the surface. The film closes with the survivors stepping into a changed world.