Mid-19th century. An elderly landowner, bored with life, organizes balls, hunts, fistfights, and banquets. Among other things, he offers his serfs and serf women to his guests for sale or entertainment. One of them, Vanka Krasnov, dreams of marrying the noblewoman Aksyusha. To do so, he must defeat the village strongman Mitka in a fistfight. But even after a fair victory, the landowner himself tries to take possession of Aksyusha. Vanka must challenge the master himself. Considered lost.