A painter named Vlado paints a portrait of an unknown woman. When the portrait "becomes alive" and the woman in the painting shows up at the artist's exhibition opening, Vlado's life is turned upside down. As Vlado becomes involved in a passionate affair with the mysterious woman, he does not even notice that he has fallen into the trap of Zom, a para-psychological organization which controls the actions of individuals by entering their thoughts, which is the meaning of "passing". A whirlwind of curious events and unexplained suicides takes him into a world where reality and fantasy are intertwined, a world created by a manipulative international corporation. In the world where relationships are just a means to an end and death is only an illusion, control and power are of ultimate value. Vlado realizes that he cannot trust anyone and even doubts his own sanity. However, it turns out that the naive artist is not such an easy target.
The protagonist is a young man, a former athlete, now a gym teacher. He is essentially a disappointed idealist who distances himself from the world and himself with irony and self-irony. His indifferent attitude towards life undergoes a slight change when he meets the headmistress of the rural school where he also teaches.
The reconstruction of creation of an influential avantguarde movement called "Novo Mesto Spring" that arrived on Slovenian cultural scene during 1920s. Within this movement worked significant local artists such as composer Mario Kogoj, painter Rihard Jakopic, poet Danijel Bohoric and many others.
An insight into multi-layered relations between natives and newcomers in the town of Pula following WWII and departure of Angloamerican forces.
The painful challenges experienced in the life of a farmer from Zadar, Croatia, in the years from World War I to World War II.
As she tries to cope with the changes in Yugoslav rural life brought about by increasing modernization, the Widow Karolina wishes she had become a mother. As difficult as things are for her, they are nonetheless much more difficult for her more-conservative and less-thoughtful neighbors.
The story of a few untrained construction workers from poor underdeveloped parts of the country, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina or Macedonia, who carry out seasonal work in the highly-developed republic of Slovenia. Far from home, problems arise for the men - with their families, alcohol, the local population's derision and the "real Slovenian workers".