The story itself occurred during his youth, in the fall of 1888, somewhere in a remote swampy Belarusian area, when he, a young folklorist, lost his way during a rainstorm and found himself at a family castle of Janoŭskis.

The young scientist, folklorist Andrej Biełarecki, having lost his way during a storm, finds himself in the Janoŭskis' ancestral castle, Bałotnyja Jaliny (Swamp Firs).

He sees the Little Man, a small creature with very long fingers, who looks through the windows at night; and The Blue Woman, descended from an old portrait, to which Nadzieja is very similar.

One evening in the swamp he is pursued by the Wild Hunt – a group of horsemen who gallop silently, move freely through the bog, make huge jumps and leave traces of ancient horseshoes.

Gradually, they learn the secret of the Wild Hunt: it was organized by Dubatoŭk in order to bring the girl to madness or death and take possession of the castle.