The story is set in a wild and remote corner of 19th-century Lithuania, where folk customs and pagan beliefs still have a hold sway on the population. Here we meet a strange family consisting of the young count, Michel (Mykolas), who exhibits animalistic behaviours, and his mad mother who, as legend has it, was raped by a bear at her own wedding. Reputed to be the product of this bestial assault, the half-human half-bear falls in love with the beautiful girl from the next manor, Miss Julia, and asks for her hand in marriage. Will this union be enough to tame the young countās dual nature?