18th-century Turkmenistan. By the will of the rulers of the Khanate of Khiva, the once-blooming land was turned into a desert. In order to unite the scattered nomadic tribes and make his people independent, the elder of one of the tribes, Khodjanepes, secretly travels to St. Petersburg to seek help from Peter I. The tsar, who was interested in strengthening the southern borders, sent Prince Cherkassky's expeditionary force to Turkmenistan, but he made a grave mistake. After listening to the Khiva Khan, who had heard about Khodjanepes's visit to the Russian capital, the tsar divided the expedition into two groups, giving Khodjanepes an excellent opportunity to deal with his soldiers.