The son of outstanding worker, miner, after many years in France, returns to his childhood town. He meets a lady-singer and a young Bosnian man in train, who are going to work in his little town. Obsessed with dreams of easy life, with help of his childhood friend, he wants to sell his father's house and depart for African diamond mine, Catanga, with that money. Encounter with his home town revives his childhood traumas again. Nightmare about old and new love, events in the mine and around him start his obsession with Catanga.

Sin udarnika, rudara, posle mnogo godina provedenih u Francuskoj vraća se u grad svog detinjstva. U vozu sretne pevačicu i mladića iz Bosne koji idu na rad u njegovo mesto. Opsednut snovima o lagodnom životu, uz pomoć druga iz detinjstva, želi da proda očevu kuću i da sa tim novcem otputuje u afrički rudnik dijamanata, u Katangu. Ponovni susret sa rodnim gradom oživljava u njemu traume iz detinjstva. Košmar stare i nove ljubavi, događaji u rudniku i oko njega, načinju njegovu opsesiju o putu za Katangu.