At the beginning of the XVII century, events take place preceding the liberation struggle led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. A young boy Pavlo Pokhylenko leaves his native Kaniv to join the Zaporizhian Sich (camp and cossack army) to fight for freedom and the Orthodox faith.
The film takes place in 1659 when Bohdan Khmelnytsky's son Yuri took power from Hetman Vyhovsky. Supporters of Bohdan Khmelnytsky are trying to help his daughter Olena to save her father's regalia - the symbol of Hetman's power and independence of Ukraine.
