A young Petersburger finds a cache in the house of his recently deceased grandfather, and in it is a letter from 73 years ago, addressed to the unknown Lazar Cherny. Out of curiosity, he unravels this story, “resurrecting” the life of the Cossack Lazar, who was a bandit in the Don steppes after the Civil War. At the same time, the secrets of his own family are revealed to him, and unexpectedly the hero finds himself on the brink of death. One's own and other people's sins, bitter love and blood feud, past and present, death and immortality are intertwined into a tight knot.