The Falowiec is a residential block of flats in Gdańsk, one of the longest in the world. Intended to showcase the modern architecture of People's Poland, it has since become a nightmarish memento of that period. The play's protagonist is the architect who designed the Falowiec (a character not based on a real person). Left by his wife, who has moved to West Germany with their two daughters, he is spending his summer holiday alone in his flat in the oldest part of the building. He is amazed to discover that time in the Falowiec can stop and speed up at random.