A mystical drama based on a story by V. Korotkevich. The film is set in out-of-the-way Belarusian woodlands at the end of the 19th century. A young ethnographer, Andrej Bielarecki, comes here to research local folk legends.
A feudal lord rules over his people with cruelty and suppression. Since God does not hear their pleas for protection, the simple people of the area turn to the devil. One girl in particular becomes a witch.