The Second World War is drawing to a close. Some refugees take shelter in a half-ruined church: Pajot, his wife and three daughters and their friend Falac. The church has been abandoned, only the Prior is still living there. All his brother monks were killed by the italian soldiers because they were hiding a resistance worker. The refugees quickly make themselves at home, continuing their previous life. The youngest daughter, Magdalenka seduces men, bringing them home. The butcher Pajot and the cook Falac continue with the work, the former killing them and the latter preparing their flesh. They set up their workshop in the crypt. The refugees are not only feeding themselves with human flesh but also use it to deal with and so they rapidly become rich. In the course of time they even open an inn. However, they do not limit their slaughter to Magdalenkas’ victims. The Prior becomes bothersome and dangerous, when he warns them about the profanation of the sanctuary, so they are forced to kill him. The middle daughter, Maria is moving away from her family, no longer wanting to eat meat and she wishes to leave. When the mother realises that Pajot has killed Maria too, she wants revenge but Pajot is the more skillful murderer. The officers of the occupying forces come to the inn, a German Major and an Italian Lieutenant (the Tenente). The Major woos the oldest daughter, Marta, the Tenente Magdalenka. However, Marta must also die, for she had wanted to call the police upon the murderer of her mother. When the Tenente (he is the one who had the monks killed) finds out that Pajot and Falac are serving human flesh he revenges them in the name of humanism by killing Magdalenka.

There is not enough meat for survival, Pajot having sold in to the occupiers, he must give it to the resistance for nothing. Betrayal is necesary also. Pajot informs the occupator about the resistance, the resistance about the foreign soldiers.The rebels immediately kill the Major, no one has any interest in killing the Tenente for the war is about to end any moment. The only one who knows of Pajot’s treason is Falac so Pajot kills him putting the blame onto him. The resistance celebrate victory. They are going to invite Pajot to the celebration for he is a man of the type the country now needs.

“The Men-eaters” is a poetical grotesque in verse and rich poetical language, taking its images and metaphors as much from biblical symbolism as from our modern day experiences.

The drama is embellished with inserted songs which either reveal the convictions of the individual characters, ironically portraying our life and its values or they reflect some of the fundamental questions of the world, giving the play a fresh breadth.