The action takes place during the Ottoman rule over Bulgaria. The ferocious outlaw Shibil rules over the whole mountain. Everyone is afraid of him and no one ventures to trespass on his territory. A big prize has been promised for his head. One day a group of women passes through the gorge. For the first time Shibil does not take their gold-coin necklaces. He falls in love at first sight with Rada, the pretty daughter of the wealthy farmer Veliko. Shibil gets transformed by love. He no longer thinks of robberies, and his fellow brigands desert him. Shibil is ready to come down into the village alone and ask Rada's father for her hand, though he knows that it will mean entering a trap. The village is under the surveillance of a large number of Turkish police. Rada goes out to meet her beloved without suspecting that her father has turned him in. Everybody, including the cruel Turkish commander, admire the courage and the looks of Shibil, but Veliko does not want his daughter to get ...