Stefcia Rudecka starts working as a governess in an aristocratic house. Waldemar, the young heir, falls in love with her but his well-off family is not eager to accept the woman he loves.
Grand Duke Konstanty marries Countess Joanna Grudzińska. However, Joanna still loves Major Łukasiński, and she agreed to the marriage out of a sense of patriotic duty. Łukasiński is arrested. The November Uprising breaks out. The conspirators capture Belweder Palace. Joanna hides Konstanty from them.
