1876. A group of Bulgarian revolutionaries disguised as market gardeners are mingled with the cosmopolitan crowd on board the Austrian riverboat "Radetzki". They take over the ship and under the command of their leader Hristo Botev force the captain to take the boat to the Bulgarian shore. The passengers watch the rebels kneel and kiss their native land. After a series of battles with the Ottoman troops, they reach the Vratza part of the Balkan Range. The uprising for the liberation from Ottoman rule in the town of Vratza has already been put down. The people are scared and nobody will risk joining the band. The death of the young patriots is not seen as a mere tragedy, but as a tribute to those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom.