Drakut, a gypsy returning from foreign wars, rescues Princess Irina from men attacking her coach. She tells him, however, she is Melena (Elena?), maid to Princess Irina. Meanwhile, trouble brews between Drakut’s gypsies and the local kingdom. Nicholas, Irina’s father, rules benevolently but he’s often manipulated by the evil and ambitious Grand Duke, Atanas. Atanas conspires to have Drakut’s mother, queen of the gypsies, burned as a witch. Drakut mistakenly blames Irina for this, still believing he has never met the princess, only her maid. Atanas also has Nicholas killed, blaming the death on Drakut. Eventually Drakut learns the truth about the Irina-Melena mix-up and rescues the princess from a forced marriage to Atanas. Irina then makes Drakut a prince, making him eligible to marry her.