Middle Ages: Bulgaria is under the Ottoman Empire. Somewhere, far in the mountains, goatherd Karaivan lives with his wife and little daughter, Mariya. One day Turks burst into the house and rape the woman before the eyes of the daughter and husband. After the rape, she is killed by a raper and the girl is shocked into growing dumb. From this moment on, Karaivan is obsessed with the sole thought of taking revenge. He moves with his daughter into a cave high in the mountains, raises her as if she is a boy, trains her to fight and draw a bow. Deep in her heart, the girl has no hatred, but a craving for love. She meets a young Muslim shepherd and falls in love. The father is unable to swallow it and kills the young man.

Teenagers Margarit and Margarita are in love. When Margarit defends Margarita from a joke at school, he gets expelled, and she joins him. Initially, things seem promising as Margarita has a chance to study folk dance with Julian, a gay instructor, and possibly join his company. Both Margarit and Julian are jealous, though it’s unclear of whom. Julian frames Margarita, and Margarit takes the blame. Margarita then attracts the attention of Nerizanov, a lustful and bisexual party boss, leading to further complications.

This film is a comedy about a poor man named Purko. Purko always fails in his attempt to escape from poverty. The film illustrates the social and the moral atmosphere in Bulgaria during the 1930's.