The story is narrated by ten-year old Staszek, who writes in his diary about his school-friend Jozef. Jozef comes from a family of blacksmiths, all of whom bear the name Jozef. Since he is the sixth consecutive son to be called Jozef, he is nicknamed Szustek (meaning "sixth one").
Jacek, a young violinist, falls in love with reciprocity with the cellist Ania. Ania's mother is against this relationship. So she sends Jacek to Cracow to get an antique violin. In the meantime, he and Ania go to New York. Jacek returns to Warsaw as soon as possible. However, the last train from...
