 The film concerns a middle @-@ aged railway pointsman , Maloin ( Miroslav Krobot ) , who lives in a decrepit apartment in a port town with his highly @-@ strung wife Camélia ( Tilda Swinton ) and his daughter Henriette ( Erika Bók ) . One night while in his viewing tower at the port 's rail terminus , Maloin witnesses a fight on the dockside . One of the shady combatants is knocked into the water along with the briefcase he carries ; when the other flees the dark quayside , Maloin makes a clandestine descent from the tower and retrieves the briefcase , which he finds full of sodden English banknotes . Maloin conceals the money and tells no @-@ one of what he has seen . The next morning , he visits a tavern where he plays chess with the barkeep ( Gyula Pauer ) . On his way home , he stops by the butcher 's where his daughter works , and finds to his indignation that they have her washing the floor . Later , from the window of his apartment , he notices Brown ( János Derzsi ) watching him from below . At dinner , Maloin is increasingly irascible , addressing Henriette brusquely and arguing with Camélia . Meanwhile , Brown searches the water at the dock 's edge without success before noticing the watchtower overlooking the quayside , and Maloin within . 
