1845. The Caucasus is on fire—already for almost half a century. War leaves people no time for sentiments. The law of the mountain people is harsh: kill or die. Rotmistr Arkady Lebedev, becoming a victim of betrayal, loses everything: his position in society, his father’s home, and his beloved. His brilliant career collapses. But he is a nobleman, an officer—and he does not intend to forgive scoundrels and murderers. Everyone will pay. And those who wove the web of intrigues, and those who committed betrayals. Revenge, just like loyalty—“Fidelity to the Tsar and to the Fatherland”—becomes for him a matter of honor.