The events of the story take place in the early 1920s, in a
Hutsul village on the
Polish-
Romanian border in
Pokuttia. Olga, a priest’s daughter, before her father died, makes him promise to marry his friend Martyn Pogodniak, a Polish officer of the local
border outpost. However, later she falls in love with the «noble robber» Ivan Semeniuk. Over time they realize that they couldn't live without each other and decide to escape but the robber’s wife Marichka snitches on them to the officer. == Ukrainian editions ==