The novel is dedicated to the fate of the Polish state of the late XIII - early XIV centuries. At the center of the story is the struggle of the Polish people for the restoration of scattered lands, which was most energetically, purposefully and fruitfully waged by the Brest-Kujaw prince Władysław Loketek (in the novel Władysław “The Elbow”), who annexed Lesser Poland to Greater Poland in 1320 and was crowned king of a united Polish state, and his son Casimir III (1333 - 1370). Under Casimir III, the main character of the novel, who went down in history under the nickname “The Great,” agreements were concluded with the Luxembourgs (1335), who renounced their claims to the Polish throne, and with the Teutonic Order (1343), forced to make some territorial concessions to Poland. In 1349 - 1352 Through the efforts of Casimir III, the lands of Galician Rus were annexed to Poland, and the struggle with Lithuania began for the right to own the Volyn lands.