Having lost her father, Anastasia Avretskaya moves to the Valutina Gora estate, to her guardian Count Arsanov. The guardian's son, captain Pyotr Arsanov, falls in love with Anastasia on the eve of his wedding to Victoria Abasheva, the daughter of the leader of the Smolensk nobility. In an attempt to overcome his attraction to Anastasia, Pyotr Arsanov commits one daring act after another, challenging his father and the entire nobility. He abandons his wedding and is forced to fight a duel with the bride's father. By a rescript from the Sovereign-Emperor, Peter was stripped of all ranks and awards for behavior unworthy of a Russian officer and sent as a private to the infantry. The War of 1812 begins. Anastasia finds the diary and learns about Peter's love. With the blessing of her guardian, Anastasia names herself Peter's wife and gets married alone in the church.