Second half of the 17th century. A burgher from Lecko - Jan Stolpecki, in accordance with the judgment of the governor of Brandenburg's elector von Hollstein, is sentenced to death for treason. The verdict is opposed by the gathered townspeople and Colonel Krzysztof Dowgird, who arrived at the head of the armed unit - a Prussian officer and a Polish nobleman. The governor, however, does not change the sentence. Dowgird terminates his service in the electoral army and, together with his companions, prepares a plan to recapture Stolpecki. The execution of the burgher is interrupted, but a detachment of Radziwiłł dragoons under the command of the Captain Zaremba arrives in the town. There is a fight; Dowgird is captured and his friends die. Only his chieftain, Kacper Pilch, remains at large and it is he who frees the colonel while playing in the castle. They run away together, but Zaremba stands in their way. The duel begins ...
Zaremba fights dishonorably and Dowgird's life is saved by Kacper. Captain Knothe, the commander of the reiters, learns about the escape of a Polish nobleman. He informs the governor about everything. Dowgird and Kacper take advantage of the confusion by escaping the city on horseback. Zaremba's dragoons and Knothe's pals are in pursuit. At the same time, a sentence is carried out in Lecko on the Prussian townspeople who helped Dowgird. The chase continues; the colonel and the captain are surrounded. The only thing left to do is escape to the swamps - and it turns out successful. However, running away without horses, they have no chance. They stop at a smithy, but its owner is cheating - he sends his son to notify the reiters. Dowgird sees it; there is a fight ...
The blacksmith is rendered harmless, but punters arrive at the smithy, leading peasant recruits to the army. Dowgird and Kacper defeat them, however, with the help of conscripts. On the way to the border, they unexpectedly come across a forest village where a wedding is taking place. The fun is interrupted by the arrival of reiters who are ordered to recruit the groom. Dowgird and Kacper stand in his defense, for which Jaśko, saved from misfortune, invites them to a wedding. The fun is interrupted by the arrival of Knothe's troops, but the peasants chase them away. The commander of the reiters in anger burns the whole village. The groom helps Dowgird and Kacper on their way, they reach the mill together. Jasiek's relative lives there, so the place seems safe. Unexpectedly, the dragoons of Captain Zaremba - Dowgird's former friend, today his great enemy - show up there. They both fight ...
The duel ends with Dowgird's victory. True to his word, Zaremba lets the Colonel and the Chieftain free. However, they do not have the strength to go any further. Knothe comes to the mansion of the noblewoman Magda with his reiters, warns that hiding traitors may lead to death, but she doesn't care about the warning. He directs the colonel with the chieftain to a nearby monastery. There they meet a theater troupe and an actress that Dowgird saved from Zaremba earlier. Unexpectedly, electoral soldiers also come to the monastery. However, the actress, thanks to the help of monks, obtains a safe conduct enabling her to continue her journey. Knothe, heavily drunk, continues his journey only after Zaremba's arrival. He and his squad surround a roadside inn and trap Kacper. Dowgird wants to surrender to save the life of his faithful companion ...
Actors come to help unexpectedly and the fight starts happily for Kacper and Dowgird. Together with Magda, they reach the shore of the lake and, escaping from the reiters, they set off in a fishing boat. However, Knothe shoots and injures the Colonel. He returns to Leck and informs von Hollstein that he killed Dowgird. Meanwhile, the colonel recovers his strength in the forest settlement of Kurpie. Kacper, looking for horses to go on, attacks an electoral courier and takes his mysterious black satchel. After a few days, the colonel, the chieftain and Magda continue their journey. Unexpectedly, they encounter a carriage that is being chased by a group of thugs. Together they defeat them. It turns out that the travelers are margrave Ansbach and von Roede who had been attacked earlier by Casper, and the noble Agata Ostrowska and her niece - beautiful Anna. Together they reach Warsaw ...
Magda, Dowgird and Kacper stop at the inn. There, unexpectedly, someone tries to grab the black satchel, but the colonel prevents the theft. At the same time, he discovers that there is a hidden list with the names of Polish magnates in the service of the elector. He informs Hetman Sobieski about everything, but the latter advises to keep the whole matter secret. Von Hollstein arrives in Warsaw and, taking advantage of the hetman's temporary absence, obtains permission to arrest Dowgird. The colonel is put in custody and is to be released in the morning. Desperate Kacper gathers the nobility to come to Dowgird's aid. Anna and Magda are also busy. Together, they set off outside Warsaw to inform Sobieski about everything ...
The Marshal's Guard releases Dowgird, but the nobility under the leadership of Kacper gathers at the gate. Sobieski also arrives and orders the colonel to be released immediately. Unable to come to terms with this defeat, Von Hollstein plots an intrigue. He uses the colonel's love for Anna and the overprotection of her cousin - Andrzej, which in turn leads to a duel between the two nobles. The marshal's guard, informed about everything, finds only a bloody cloak upon arrival. Everyone thinks this is proof that Dowgird killed Andrew. He faces the death penalty for this. Only Kacper in a conversation with Sobieski reveals the whole truth - Anna's cousin is alive and he was hurt by a man hired by electoral officials. Von Hollstein believes that Dowgird's capture is only a matter of time. Unexpectedly, together with the margrave and the governor of the elector, he receives invitations to the evening performance in the hetman's palace ...
During the feast, itinerant comedians present a pantomime that unmasks the whole plot. Von Hollstein confronts Dowgird to keep his honor, but dies. Meanwhile, a delegation of the Prussian States is going towards Warsaw. On the way through the forest, she is attacked by robbers. During Sobieski's meeting with Ansbach, Dowgird learns about the incident. In the inn, he meets the leader of the gang - Valery, who demands a high ransom. The colonel, however, does not agree to his conditions, and the thug leaning against the wall during the conversation with Kacper, reveals information about the abductees. Dowgird, the chieftain and cousin of Anna, together reach the ruins of the castle in Wilcze Doły. This is where the delegates are held. Concerned, Anna and Magda are also going to this place ...
Dowgird and Andrzej get to the dungeons and free the kidnapped delegates, but their escape is noticed by the gang members. The chase begins. However, help arrives with Anna and Magda at the helm. On the way back, the beautiful noblewoman accepts the colonel's proposal. Margrave Ansbach persists in his plots. The release of the ensign of Odrowąż, imprisoned in Prussia, depends on the issue of a previously kidnapped list by the colonel. When, during an agreed meeting, it turns out that Dowgird did not bring her, the Pigeons attack him. Tied up, he goes to the electoral carriage. The Margrave hopes to carry out the elector's order - to transport the colonel alive to Ducal Prussia. Meanwhile, Hetman Sobieski and the nobility gathered at the evening re-parties are starting to worry about Dowgird's absence ...
Soon the news of the kidnapping reaches the hetman himself. After the electoral carriage, a chase, led by Kacper, begins, but the kidnappers confuse the nobles. Meanwhile, Knothe's raiders are waiting for Dowgird in the monastery on the border. The monks also took refuge, along with two faithful dragoons, Captain Zaremba, whose unit fell into disrepair. The colonel is imprisoned in the monastery buildings, and with him Zaremba and his steward who stood up for Dowgird. Fortunately, the third dragoons managed to escape and informs the encountered Kacper and his companions about everything. Knothe dies during a duel with Zaremba. The liberated Dowgird returns to Warsaw, where he soon marries Anna and Kacper with Magda. Soon, however, they are given the opportunity to enjoy themselves. The southern borders of the Republic of Poland are attacked by Turkish troops. Captain Zaremba, Colonel Dowgird and Captain Pilch set out to defend their homeland together.
