At the station of Almamellék the semaphore turns red unexpectedly and the conductor shows a stowaway with no money nor ticket off the train The stowaway has to undergo a serious and long investigation that tries to uncover the reasons for his deed In the meantime he can watch like a spectator in a movietheatre how Kerek József the strutting stationmaster rules his ridiculous empire through office bureaucracy indifference servility and negligence