Vakho, Wolf's Cub tells the story of Janek, a young son of a Polish nobleman in the borderlands, during the Bolshevik revolution. After returning from hunting, he finds the troops of Bolshevik in the village. The soldiers immediately introduce their order by hanging members of the village council and raping and killing two important women for the main character, Hapka's, Janek's sweetheart, and Maruchna, a wardrobe girl. The arrival of a secret police regiment to the region is part of the preparations of the Bolshevik troops to march to Warsaw.

Janek finds the manor empty. The buildings are partially burned down. He doesn't know what happened to Grandpa Sylvester and Uncle Vakhtang, and to the servants. He has to change overnight from a youngster to a man. He is terrified, and as a representative of the "noble" class, he is forced to hide in the wilderness and fight for survival. As time passes, he takes up a fight with the Bilsheviks, saves his friends, and makes contact with the Polish regiment operating behind the enemy's rear.