Vadim, a hunchbacked young man, is hired as a servant by boyard Palitsyn. This one tries to seduce Olga his pupil become a beautiful young woman. But it turns out that Olga is Vadim's sister and that Palitsyne is responsible for their father's death when they were little. Vadim thinks only of avenging his father when Olga is madly in love with Youri the son of Palitsyn. Vadim will join forces with the Cossacks of Pugachev to attack the Palitsyn family. One day, he surprises his sister with Youri and decides to kill him with an ax, but following a misunderstanding, it is Youri's servant that he kills. Realizing his mistake he burst into tears.