Prokhor Gromov, a merchant’s son, is a typical “Siberian character”—strong, broad, and wild. He has all the traits of that nature: energy, ruthlessness, the ability to love and hate, faith in himself, a craving for wealth and power, and stubbornness. Women always value his strength, and many fall at his feet. But only two of them have a true mysterious connection with him: the mysterious shaman Sínilga and the powerful taiga woman Anfisa Kozyreva, who yields to Prokhor in neither strength nor passion nor temperament.