Evening, the children gather around the fire, the old miller begins to tell them a story. In his tale, Mikolka goes to Mr. Adam to teach reading and writing to his daughter Khristinka. And on the way to the estate, Kolya learns that the village has been captured by unclean forces, ghouls and winds, and Pan Adam himself is in captivity. Mikolka and Khristinka decide to free the prisoners and the land from evil spirits, but for this they will have to go through many trials, one of which may be beyond their power.