Mary, the daughter of Emperor Nicholas I, was very beautiful. Once, when Gregory saw her in the window, he vanished for the rest of his life. As an illegitimate son of a landowner and a peasant woman in serfdom, they never dared to dream that the royal daughter would pay attention to him. But apparently, they were made for each other. Mary not only noticed the tall, handsome beauty—she wanted him to become her first man. Gregory never saw his Masha again. But the memory of the happiness he experienced once lived in his heart for the rest of his life.