
Based on Pushkin's The Gypsies, the young man Aleko flees civilized society to live among a Romani camp, where he marries the chief's daughter Zemfira. When Zemfira takes a young Romani lover, Aleko's jealousy erupts in violence and he murders both lovers. The old chief banishes him, declaring that the Romani have no use for a man who claims freedom but cannot grant it to others.