Second half of the 16th century. The flywheel of the long and bloody Livonian War is slowly gaining momentum, drawing thousands of human destinies into its orbit. Prince Grigory Zasekin did not escape it either. The young governor fought honestly both in Dorpat and near Fellin, participated in the capture of Polotsk, was personally acquainted with the dissident prince Andrei Kurbsky and even, according to the author, helped him escape from the guardsmen. Having happily escaped the hammer of the oprichnina, Zasekin was “thrown” by the tsar to strengthen the south-eastern borders of Rus' - the creation of the Volga serf line, for which he received the nickname “voivode of the Wild Field”.