durmishkhan is a serf freed by his master. now, he has to buy the freedom of his lover vardo to marry her. he leaves his land and encounters a merchant named osman agha who tells his story. he was born a serf named nodar zalikashvili. after he had lost his mother due to his master's cruelty, he killed his master, fled, and embraced islam to avoid persecution. durmishkhan now starts to work for osman agha and marries another woman, who gives birth to a boy named zurab. meanwhile, vardo becomes a fortune teller. osman agha leaves his trade to durmishkhan and converts to christianity. in a dream a group of muslims kill him for being a "murtad".