Vitoria and Gheorghiță embark on a mythical journey, at the end of which they find Nechifor's dead body and take their revenge on the thieves who killed him.

It was adapted into an eponymous movie, Baltagul, which was directed by Mircea Mureșan[7] and premiered in October 1969;[8] Vitoria Lipan was played by Margarita Lozano.

[1][9] After hints from the priest Dănilă and the elder Maranda, Vitoria decides to pray to Saint Mary and to fast for twelve Fridays in a row, hoping Nechifor will eventually return.

After Gheorghiță returns home around the winter holidays, Vitoria goes to the Bistrița Monastery to pray to the icon of Saint Anne and request spiritual advice, then leaves for Piatra Neamț to report her husband missing.

The two shepherds, Calistrat Bogza and Ilie Cuțui, live in the Doi Meri Valley and seem to have quickly grown wealthier, and their wives became vain and spendthrift.

After Vitoria gets some advice, Maria launches a rumor in Suha that the sheep that were sold to the two shepherds are questionable because after Nechifor's death, there were no witnesses, and no documents were signed.

The woman accuses Calistrat Bogza of hitting her husband from behind to take his sheep, with Cuțui standing guard so they would not be surprised by a passerby.

Ilie Cuțui surrenders and confirms the woman's accusations, while Bogza, who was gravely wounded by the dog's bite, confesses his guilt and asks to be forgiven.