Andrei is in love with Mariya, but Mariya is in love with Ivan Mazeppa, who loves her back. Mazeppa is friends with Vasily Kochubey, Mariya's father, and asks him for permission to marry Mariya. Kochubey refuses, and a quarrel breaks out. Mariya intervenes, and when asked to choose between her family and Mazeppa, chooses to elope with Mazeppa. Kochubey, furious, reveals to his family and friends that he knows Mazeppa is plotting against the Tsar. He goes to inform the Tsar of the plot, but the Tsar doesn't believe him and turns him over to Mazeppa. He and Iskra, an associate of his, are sentenced to death.

Mariya is kept unaware of her father's imprisonment and impending execution. Mazeppa confides in Mariya that he hopes to become ruler of an independent Ukraine, a plan that Mariya supports. After he leaves, Mariya's mother, Lyubov, sneaks into Mazeppa's castle and tells Mariya that her father is going to be executed. Mariya is horrified and the two rush off to try to stop the execution. They arrive just as the axes fall; they are too late.

Mazeppa finally puts his plot into action, but he and his allies are defeated at the Battle of Poltava. As he and his remaining forces flee, he comes across Andrei. Andrei fights Mazeppa, but Mazeppa fatally wounds him. Mariya, who lost her sanity after witnessing her father's execution, has also wandered into the area. Mazeppa wants to bring her with him, but is convinced to leave her behind lest she slow down his retreat. Andrei dies in Mariya's arms, trying in vain to get her to come to her senses.

Mariya and Andrei are in love and hope to marry. However, Ivan Mazeppa is friends with Mariya's father, Vasily Kochubey. Unbeknownst to everyone, Mazeppa is also an evil sorcerer. He wants to marry Mariya, so he casts a spell on her that makes her fall out of love with Andrei and fall in love with Mazeppa. Mazeppa asks Kochubey for permission to marry Mariya, who "wants" to marry Mazeppa now that she's under Mazeppa's spell. Kochubey realizes something's wrong, however, and refuses. A fight breaks out and Mazeppa elopes with Mariya. Kochubey reveals his knowledge of Mazeppa's plot to betray the Tsar and side with the enemy in an ongoing war. He decides to tell the Tsar about the plot, but Mazeppa uses his magic to make the Tsar disbelieve Kochubey's claims. Kochubey is turned over to Mazeppa, who sentences him to death.

Lyubov, Mariya's mother, sneaks into Mazeppa's castle and tells Mariya that Kochubey is going to be publicly executed. She is under Mazeppa's spell, however, and doesn't believe her mother's claims, thinking the condemned is just someone who looks like Kochubey and that Lyubov is just trying to ruin her marriage with Mazeppa by making her doubt him. Lyubov flees when she hears Mazeppa approaching. She teams up with Andrei to stop the execution; they make it just in the nick of time and rescue Kochubey. Andrei tries to get Mariya to come to her senses, but it's no use, and they are forced to flee as Mazeppa's troops catch up to them.

Mazeppa finally puts his plot into action, and with the help of his magic, he and his allies are able to gain the upper hand against the Tsar's forces. Andrei is on the Tsar's side and manages to fight his way to Mazeppa. The two fight and Andrei manages to kill Mazeppa. With Mazeppa dead, his magic stops working, weakening his side and allowing the Tsar's forces to win. Some time after the battle has ended, Mariya, no longer under Mazeppa's spell, reunites with her parents and marries Andrei.