When the mother of Ania Tarłówna, the heiress of the estate in Wilczary, dies, her uncle, Teodor Kościesza, who manages the property, takes care of her. Ania, isolated by her despotic uncle from the outside world, spends most of her time with her cousin Lorka and her brother Jaś. One day, the uncle agrees to a trip to the wilderness of the young. There, by chance, Ania meets Prince Andrzej Olelkowicz, an heir from the neighboring Turzerogi, and falls in love with him. Andrzej appears soon in Wilczary and asks Kościesza for Ania's hand. The latter, however, possessed by a hidden, morbid love for his niece, drives the prince away, and does the same with Lorka and Jaś. When Kościesza confesses love to Ania, she runs away to Andrzej in desperation ...