Imperial Russia, mid-19th century. The city of Kaluga and its surroundings. After the duel, Lieutenant Konstantin Korneev was transferred to serve in the hussar (light cavalry) regiment, stationed near Kaluga. The Lieutenant is in despair. However, he soon meets the charming Natalia Pogremtsova and falls in love with her at first sight. Meanwhile, Natalya's father, Dmitry Fedorovich, decides to marry his daughter to an old friend who bought the estate next door. The Pogremtsovs' married couple pays a visit to their new neighbor. The owner decides to treat the guests to an exotic foreign dish: oysters. Mr. Pogremtsov finds this dish very tasty and unusual. He eats a hefty portion. After a while, the landowner becomes ill from overeating and decides to go home. At this time, Natalia and Konstantin meet in the forest. Stormy explanations take place between them. Natalya does not want to marry an old man and, in a fit of despair, rushes into the arms of a hussar. On the way home, Mr. Pogremtsov gets worse and worse. He leaves the carriage in order to retire in the forest to fulfill his natural need. Pogremtsov with his trousers down from the bushes 'rushes to the aid of his daughter' (at least so it seemed to him at that moment) and gets under the fist of the Lieutenant. The father of a respectable family could not have imagined that a stranger could become his son-in-law. Nevertheless, it is still far from family relations and Korneev is fleeing. Soon, all the local police start looking for him. However, Korneev, despite the danger, tries to penetrate into estate Pogremtsovka to meet up with his lover and rid it of unwanted marriage. But the police and the father of the family are on the alert. The wedding day is soon appointed. And what was the Lieutenant's surprise when he found out whom Natalya should marry! And then the Lieutenant decides to take a desperate step: to steal the bride from the old fiancé. And to marry his beloved Natalia.