The owner of a suburban house, Anna Faktorová, makes life miserable for the tenants. There is strict order in the house and the only one who gets along well with Mrs. Faktorová is the parasite and thief Gustav, who informs on the others. An old bachelor named Zajíček, a pawnshop clerk, moves into the attic. After a while, he finds a liking for his neighbor, music teacher Věra Hronová. Grocer Mejstřík is worried about the fate of his shop on the ground floor. Spiritualist Šoltys is forced to pay increased rent when he is caught at a seance, and on top of that, a clock goes missing from his apartment. A dealer later comes to the pawnshop with them. Zajíček recognizes the clock and it turns out that Gustav stole the clock. Zajíček, who has become close to Věra, is jealous when he sees her talking to an older, rich man...