前夜

叶列娜出身豪门贵族，是个正直、热情而富有自我牺牲精神的俄国姑娘，对待朋友别尔申涅夫和舒宾非常真诚。对英沙洛夫的爱情十分慎重而又十分坚决。他爱英沙洛夫，只是因为他的性格诚实，行为正直，特别因为他怀着决心解放自己祖国的崇高理想，叶为了对英的爱情，不惜远离自己的祖国。英沙洛夫去世后，她含辛茹苦，继承自己丈夫未完成的事业，在民族解放战争中当看护，忠于信仰，依然前行。19th century. Russia. Elena belongs to a rich family. She spends her life at promenades, poetry reading and balls. A friend of a family brings along his fellow-student Insarov. The latter is a Bulgarian, who longs for his country's liberation from the Ottoman yoke. Insarov and Elena fall in love with each other. He is taken ill. Elena tends him in the hospital and at his home. She wants to marry him but her parents refuse to allow her to do so. Insarov has to go to Bulgaria when the preparations for an uprising are in progress. Elena decides to join him. The get married against the will of her parents and leave. On the way Insarov dies. Elena wants to have him buried in his homeland and to take over his revolutionary activities.