This is a romantic story about a brave, self-made girl, despised daughter of a shepherd. She is not afraid of anything - neither night nor swimming. But the superstitious villagers are telling weird stories about her and about all sorts of strange things, even her conjunction with the powers of hell.
Woman concert star seeks to connect with her adult daughter, by her former marriage to a staid industrialist who has kept the two apart since the girl was very small, and receives inadvertent help from the industrialist's just-fired employee who has fallen in love with the girl.
Lieutenant Orloff, a recently graduated Russian officier, is making his way across the snow-covered steppes to the garrison where he is to be stationed. He comes across a man who has lost his way in the blizzard and takes him to the safety of an inn. Arriving at the garrison, Orloff meets and falls immediately in love with Macha, the daughter of his commander. The town is suddenly attacked by a hoard of bandits who claims to be the true Tsar of Russia.
