A stranger arrives in Domenico's village and awakens in the young man the desire to explore the world. He first travels to Feinstadt, a place of good morals; but is everything really as it seems, as the night watchman claims? When Domenico tragically loses his great love, he decides to leave for Kamora. There, tyranny and crime reign - until a group of shepherds rises up. They establish Canudos, a city of freedom. However, the struggle against Kamora lies ahead of them. Written during the Soviet era, this is the most-read book in Georgia and serves as a stirring parable about human existence in times of social and political tyranny.