The story tells of Cossack centurion of the Konotop hundred Mykyta Ulasovich Zabryokha, his clerk Pistryak, and the witch Yavdokha Zubikha.
The work begins with a description of Konotop centurion Mykyta Ulasovych Zabryokha sitting "sad and gloomy".
Judge Demyan Khalyavsky, Olena's former lover, now sits sad and unhappy because she is now marrying someone else, but Zubikha offers to help him, too.
Shortly thereafter, Zabryokha is removed from his position for not complying with the Chernihiv regiment's orders, as is Pistryak, and Khalyavsky becomes the new captain.
In the epilogue, the author writes that this tale was told to him by the late Panas Mesiura, and reveals the ending to the story: Khalyavsky was not a centurion for long, because he quickly upset his superiors, and his marriage to Olena was unhappy because it was the result of witchcraft.