A grim time on the eve of the abolition of serfdom. Young штабс-капітан Nikita Zakatov has never had a family. He knew neither care nor friendship—he had long grown accustomed to loneliness. The young Gypsy Kat’ka swept through his life like a hurricane, forever changing it—and disappeared. For many years Nikita searched for his Gypsy, dreaming of a meeting, not noticing that his happiness and love were already very close… Meanwhile, monstrous things are happening on Nikita’s family estate. The villagers have no mercy from the tormentor—Upyrykhа. A terrible death awaits the village healer Ustinya. In saving the girl, her fiancé makes a desperate choice…