More than a year has passed since serfdom was abolished. Peasant unrest shakes Russia. The rebels viciously murder the young Countess Zakatova. Her husband remains a widower with a baby in his arms.
Hard news reaches Nikita Zakatov and from his friend exiled to Siberia. Inhuman rule by the new boss makes the lot of convicts unbearable. Factory medic Ustinya worries day and night for her husband—the hot-tempered, loose-tongued Efim. Meanwhile, the attention of the boss is drawn to the beauty-convict Vasilisa. The strict master of the factory burns with passion, not knowing that Vasilisa is mad…