In the aul, where Circassians sit on the doorsteps in the evening and talk about their battles, a horseman appears, dragging a Russian captive on the lasso, who seems dead from wounds. But at noon the captive wakes up, recalls that with him, where he is, and discovers the shackles on his feet. He is a slave!
His dream he flies to Russia, where he spent his youth and which he left for freedom. He dreamed of finding her in the Caucasus, and gained slavery. Now he only wants death.
At night, when the aul calmed down, a young Circassian comes to the prisoner and brings him a cool koumiss to quench his thirst. For a long time the maid sits with the captive, crying and not having the opportunity to talk about her feelings.
For many days in a row the captive captive grazes a herd in the mountains, and every night a Circassian woman comes to him, brings koumiss, wine, honey and millet, shares a meal with him and sings the songs of the mountains, teaches the captive his native language. She fell in love with the captive with her first love, but he was not able to reciprocate her, afraid to disturb the sleep of forgotten love.
Gradually the captive got used to a dull life, melting in his soul longing. His eyes were amused by the majestic mountains of the Caucasus and Elbrus in an ice rim. Often he found particular joy in the storms that raged on the mountain slopes, not reaching the heights where he was.
His attention is drawn to the customs and customs of the highlanders, he likes the simplicity of their life, hospitality, and militancy. He could watch for hours how the Circassians go on horseback, accustoming themselves to war; he liked their outfit, and the weapons that adorn the Circassian, and horses, which are the main wealth of the Circassian warriors. He admires the military prowess of the Circassians and their formidable raids on the Cossack villages. In their homes, near the hearths, the Circassians are hospitable and welcome tired travelers, caught in the mountains at night or in bad weather.
The captive also observes the war games of Chechen youths, admires their spirit and strength, he is not even embarrassed by their bloody amusements, when in the heat of the game they chop heads of slaves. Having experienced the military pleasures, looking into the eyes of death, he hides the movements of his heart from the Circassians and amazes them with his careless courage and equanimity. Circassians are even proud of them as their prey.
The Circassian woman in love, who recognized the ecstasy of the heart, persuades the captive to forget his homeland and freedom. She is ready to despise the will of her father and brother, who want to sell it to the unloved in another village, persuade them or commit suicide. She loves only a captive. But her words and affection do not awaken the souls of the captive. He indulges in memories and once, crying, opens her soul, he prays to the Circassian woman to forget him, who has become a victim of passions that deprived him of rapture and desires. He laments that he recognized her so late, when there is no hope and dream, and he is not able to answer her love, his soul is cold and insensitive, and a different image lives in her, always sweet, but unattainable.
In response to the confessions of the captive, the Circassian rebukes him and says that he could at least out of pity deceive her inexperience. She asks him to be indulgent to her mental torment. The captive answers her that their fates are similar, that he, too, did not know reciprocity in love and suffered in loneliness. At dawn, sad and silent, they part, and from then on, the captive spends time alone in his dreams of freedom.
One day he hears a noise and sees that the Circassians go on a raid. Only women, children and elders remain in the aul. The captive dreams of an escape, but a heavy chain and a deep river are insurmountable obstacles. And when it got dark, she came to the prisoner, holding a saw and a dagger in her hands. She cuts the chain herself. An excited young man offers her to run away with him, but the Circassian woman refuses, knowing that he loves another. She says goodbye to him, and the captive rushes into the river and floats to the opposite bank. Suddenly he hears behind him the sound of waves and a distant moan. Having got ashore, he turns around and does not look at the Circassian woman on the left bank.
The captive understands what this splash and groan meant. He looks with a farewell gaze at the abandoned village, on the field where he grazed the herd, and goes to where Russian bayonets sparkle and advanced Cossacks hail.
