The boyar Orcha (Piotr Tchardynine) leaves the service of Ivan the Terrible and settles in his domain. He has a daughter whom he adores (Alexandra Goncharova) and an adopted son, Arsène (Andreï Gromov). One day, Orcha surprises them during a romantic date. His fury knows no bounds: he sends Arsene to prison and locks his daughter up in his home, throwing the key into the Dnieper. Arsene managed to escape and fled to the Lithuanians with whom he returned to Russia. The boyar Orcha perishes and he finds in the house the putrefied corpse of his beloved.
